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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25260583">from frustration to first inclination</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerleo/pseuds/killerleo'>killerleo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Glee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, McKinley AU, Season 4 AU, Season Rewrite, Slow Burn, sebastian is transferred to mckinley for his senior year and yes it is as chaotic as that sounds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:42:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>62,219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25260583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerleo/pseuds/killerleo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>blaine wants his senior year at mckinley to go as smoothly as possible; win nationals, graduate, go to new york to be with kurt. but when a certain warbler gets transferred to the school against his will, things don't really go to plan.</p><p>~</p><p>a season 4 rewrite where sebastian goes to mckinley... because i said so.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blaine Anderson/Sebastian Smythe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>169</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. new arrival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this was spawned from a tiny thought in my brain that was like...what if you rewrote all of season 4, but with mckinley!sebastian? and i apparently hate myself because i immediately said oh my god yes. this is pretty slow burn, and although the concept is mildly ridiculous it's done as authentically as i can aha, so i thought i'd start posting it on the free day in seblaine week.</p><p>insane thanks to quinn (elioelioelioelio on ao3, mbmbamsapphic on tumblr) for helping to fuel this, beta reading it and making weird john mulaney/antoni meme edits about our dumb, dumb jokes. </p><p>i also will not explain the title, but it is entirely soll's (seblandersmythe) fault.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>McKinley felt strange without Kurt. It was a time he’d always known was coming, but never quite expected to arrive so fast, and be quite so scary as it was. No matter what he’d dressed it up as, Blaine had transferred to be with him, not thinking long term about how Kurt was a year ahead of him and that they’d in fact only have a year together, instead he focused on trying to make that one year as special as he could. He tried to forget Dalton, move on from his life as a Warbler and embrace the new direction he’d taken, but now it all seemed to make him feel lost. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now in his senior year his boyfriend wasn’t there, and he realised that most of his time at McKinley had been so entwined with Kurt that he didn’t know where he stood without him. Nothing could make him prouder than knowing he was off in New York, chasing his dream and taking matters into his own hands, but that small, nagging part of him that told him he was lonely didn’t seem to want to go away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The first day back had been a bit of a blur; it seemed that winning a national championship meant that people didn’t actively hate them or want to aggressively throw things at their heads as they walked down the corridors, which was a vast improvement at least. He almost felt like he was back at Dalton, the feeling of confidence and assertion, the suggestion of actual respect from his peers wasn’t quite as prominent but it was something. And with the previous seniors gone, he knew this was his year to be leader. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some of the others had it in their heads that they would take over from Rachel, which was a little ridiculous - Brittney was extremely talented, sure, but lacked any of the leadership skills to be in charge, and whilst Tina was just as talented, she wasn’t quite </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>; plus her emotional breakdowns were more than a little too much. Honestly, Unique was his only competition but she wasn’t a senior, so there was no real threat. He was determined to make this </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> year - just because Kurt wasn’t there that didn’t mean that he couldn’t enjoy McKinley, take centre stage, live his life properly - it would all come together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>On his second day back, one text kind of screwed that all up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stormed into the choir room, slamming the door open and strode in, the room thankfully empty apart from the one person that had summoned him. Blaine still partly thought he was hallucinating, but even if the text had been a weird fever dream, the image of Sebastian Smythe lazily sat on a chair, out of his Dalton uniform, was nothing less than completely real. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck are you playing at?” he demanded, not bothering to hide the anger and confusion in his voice, hyper aware of the veins throbbing in his neck and the slight crack in his words as he spoke. This could not be happening, not to him, not on what was supposed to be a perfect year. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian seemed pretty unphased by his outburst, remaining slumped back in the chair, one arm slung on the back whilst his legs splayed out in front of him, long and wide apart. He was in a plain t-shirt and jeans, more dressed down than Blaine thought possible, hair still perfectly shaped with that intentional slight dishevelment, characteristic smirk on his face that was very punchable. Annoyingly, he hadn’t got any less attractive in the months since he’d last seen him - in fact, he was probably even hotter. Bastard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to see you too, killer, I see you got my message,” he drawled out, the cockiness in his voice still there, but Blaine could sense an underlying frustration, something hidden beneath the surface there which was desperately being smothered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stepped closer, thrusting out the phone in his hand towards the taller boy, boring his eyes into his skull in what he hoped was a mildly threatening look. “The message that said, ‘emergency in the choir room, don’t worry about wearing clothes’?” he hissed, rolling his eyes at Sebastian’s laugh, clearly amused by his own text. “Not funny Sebastian, if someone sees you here we’ll both get into shit. Why aren’t you at Dalton anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>That seemed to make a slight crack appear on his face, the mention of the school haltering his grin and eyes flickering slightly, the ghost of something there that was oddly intriguing. Sebastian dragged himself off the chair, slowly walking to near Blaine, hands slung in his pockets. For the first time, he noticed a backpack on the floor near his feet, diverting his attention to the bag as Sebastian approached him, settling only a few inches away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Green eyes looked up into his, and Blaine had a horrible feeling that he knew what was coming next. “After what I did last year, and...</span>
  <em>
    <span> certain</span>
  </em>
  <span> events over the summer, my dad decided that just taking money or cars off me wasn’t quite punishment enough, so…” Sebastian trailed off slightly, that frustration and almost sadness reflecting across his face briefly, before he sighed out heavily. “He thought he’d make my life a walking nightmare and transfer me to McKinley.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine’s stomach dropped. He took a small step back, glaring at the boy opposite him trying to detect any humour in his face, desperately trying to see the joke that had to be there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re shitting me,” he said, words falling out of his mouth as he didn’t even realise he was saying them, heart feeling like it had just been abused by a defibrillator. Sebastian rolled his eyes and gave a small shake of the head and looked like he was enjoying the whole thing a little more than he should. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unfortunately not. Look, if you don’t believe me, go to the reception and see all my papers, it’s official. Trust me, I’m just as happy as you are about this, believe or not I actually like Dalton - but when my dad makes up his mind, that’s that.” Sebastian spoke with a clarity which implied this decision had been made a while ago, and he’d already had to accept it, seemingly not looking to argue any more than he probably had been. Those green eyes looked him up and down, in that piercing way only he could, lingering around his thighs and arms, still making him feel as naked as the way he did the first time they met. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian stepped a little closer, closing the space between them so he could practically feel the heat radiating off of his frame. He leaned in; breath hot against Blaine’s ear as he whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll see you in auditions killer,” he muttered, lingering slightly next to him, before turning to pick up his backpack and stride out the choir room, leaving Blaine stood wondering what the fuck he was going to do next. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine spent the next few hours freaking out completely. At first he had tried to doubt Sebastian’s story, wondering if it would be like that thing that happened a few years ago with the dude from Vocal Adrenaline Kurt had told him about, but he couldn’t even attempt to convince himself. Sebastian had been telling the truth. First of all, the whole espionage thing wasn’t really his style; if he was going to go after the New Directions it would be a more brutal, direct attack, not some undercover operation. And he just couldn’t ignore the way he looked and spoke, the hint of anger there, covered up but not invisible, a clear frustration at being punished so severely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He went to his classes, the two he had that afternoon thankfully not shared with Sebastian as it turned out, and thought about the glee club, and what to tell them. As per the majority of show choirs, they were all a little dramatic and emotional at the best of times, and this new popularity high they were riding on did nothing to dissuade that. Plus, some of them had it in their heads there needed to be some kind of competition for the ‘New Rachel’ whatever the fuck that meant, so they’d probably be concerned with someone as talented as Sebastian trying to take the limelight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His fingers had been itching to text him all afternoon, not sure what to say, what to ask, but just feeling the need for answers, or honesty, or just communication. Every turn he was looking over his shoulder, wondering if that tall frame would be making an appearance, standing by a locker or sitting in a classroom. Sebastian at McKinley just seemed so </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so unsuited to his personality and attitude, that Dalton blazer seemed like a second skin rather than a uniform. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine realised that it was the same for him, that outsider feeling, the misconnect between Dalton and McKinley that made adjusting hard, what he had felt like last year. Even without the blazer on he had felt like it was still there, signifying to everyone that he was different and didn’t belong, only Kurt’s reassurance to guide him. His mind raced with all those thoughts as he made his way to the choir room for glee rehearsals, head consumed with Sebastian and the whole situation, almost walking right past the door in his trance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he pushed in, he could tell that there was something going on, the current glee members all with furious faces and borderline shouting at one another, tension thick in the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, guys? What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone’s heads whipped around to look at him as he entered, he gripped the strap of his satchel nervously as he stared at the array of faces. They all had their ‘show-choir-is-life-and-death’ expressions on, which only meant bad things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tina stood up; arms crossed over her chest with one of her diva faces stamped on. “Sebastian fucking Smythe, aka evil Warbler was in Artie’s AP English class today,” she seethed, the rest of the people in the room shaking their hands in anger, sounds of tutting and hushed whispers filling the seats. Ah, he probably should’ve expected that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine twisted his mouth and bit the inside of his cheek, nervously toying with the buckle on his bag, avoiding eye contact with his friends. “Yeah, uh, I know actually,” he muttered, ignoring the array of “what the fuck” which came out the New Directions mouths. “He spoke to me this morning, it’s kind of an odd story, but basically he goes to McKinley now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>And if he thought they were loud before, it was nothing compared to the wall of sound that erupted after he finished talking, Blaine wincing a little at the noise before him. Behind him, he heard Mr Schue stride in, clapping his hands loudly and shouting at them to all settle down, a confused expression on his face, as per usual.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys, guys, settle down. What’s going on here?” he asked, standing next to the piano staring out at all of them, Blaine still stood off to the side rather than seated next to his friends, out of mild fear of getting mauled to death. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Artie wheeled forwards a little, eyes steely. “I saw Sebastian in class today, and according to Blaine, he now goes here.” Mr Schuester’s eyes widened, turning his head to Blaine with an open mouth, eyebrows up way in his hairline. The rest of the glee club stared at him as well, Blaine suddenly feeling very much like a zoo animal in that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop looking at me as if I invited him myself,” he sighed, shoulder slumping as he made his way over to the chairs, collapsing into one next to Sam, slightly mirroring the position that Sebastian had been in earlier. “I found out today as well, he texted me to ask to speak to him and he explained everything. It wasn’t exactly his choice, his dad did it as some kind of weird punishment or whatever.” No one looked particularly convinced, and they all still looked very angry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I’m not saying I’m friends with the guy, but I also know he’s not lying. If this was some Warbler thing there’s no way he would do this, it’s not his style. And trust me, he wants to be here even less than you guys want him here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam stared at him for a moment, tilting his head as if in deep thought, then suddenly clapped a hand down on Blaine’s knee, the sound making everyone jump.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t like that guy, but I like Blaine,” he said slowly, as if he was figuring out what he was saying as the words came out of his mouth. “And I trust his judgement. Not saying we should like, be buddies or whatever, but let’s maybe not attack him or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tina scoffed and whipped her head around to face Sam and him, hair lashing around her shoulders in a cascade Blaine would’ve found very pretty if not feeling mildly scared by her right now. “Oh, because he’s never attacked one of us?” she yelled, jabbing her finger over in Blaine’s direction in a point Cooper would’ve been proud of. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eye tingled slightly in the memory of the accident, turning his head away to swallow deeply. Unique narrowed her eyes and leaned forwards, looking between him and Tina. “Hold up, this is the guy that threw the slushie? Tall sexy Warbler?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine ignored Tina’s noise of protest and Sugar’s nod in approval at her description, instead pushing off his seat to stand up and stare at the whole room. “Yes, ok, he did that. And if you remember, I’m the only one that got hurt, and all of you gave away the only evidence of it happening, without even having my permission, so you’re not innocent either. All I’m saying is, I’m sick of drama and fighting, and I just want this year to go well, so please no one do anything stupid, or make his life miserable, because I’m sure it sucks enough at the moment!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His voice had gotten louder as he went on, a pent up anger in him that he didn’t even realise was there. Blaine wasn’t dumb, he knew his frustration wasn’t all about Sebastian - yes, it affected him a fair amount that he was now here, but the feeling of missing Kurt and being lonely was harder than he thought. This whole situation was just a catalyst for him to let it all out, and honestly hating Sebastian right now wouldn’t make anything better, just make someone else’s life miserable.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Again, he felt a comforting hand clamp down on him, this time on his shoulder as Sam stood up next to him. They hadn’t really spoken much in his time at McKinley, their biggest interaction probably their fight last year, but the blond had always been supportive and kind, plus apparently very helpful to Kurt when dealing with homophobia, and that meant a lot to Blaine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds good to me, it’s not up to us to decide who gets to go to this school, so let’s not do anything dumb,” Sam said, resting his hand on Blaine’s shoulder as a sign of support, fixing the rest of the room with a pointed look, as if daring them to say anything. “I think we all know that with Rachel gone, this guy right here is the most well rounded, experienced, and talented person in the room, so I think we owe him a little respect.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt his face warm up a little at the compliment, a while since he’d been the centre of attention in a glee club, and he turned to Sam to give him an appreciative smile, despite the grumblings from the rest of the group, nodding at the blond next to him and, wow, had he always been that attractive? Ok, no Blaine, don’t go there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Schue slowly bowed his head at the front of the room, his mind clearly racing for a way to appease the whole situation. “Ok, thanks guys. We’ve always been a group of tolerance and acceptance, so let’s not stop that now just because we’re national champs,” he announced, raising his eyebrows at Tina who grumpily looked off to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine went to sit back down, but then remembered the last thing Sebastian had said to him and straightened his back a little, putting his hand up. Mr Schue nodded for him to continue, so he cleared his throat and wrung his hands together. “Um, Sebastian actually said he was going to audition to be in the group, just to let you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The muffled complaining and grumbling that was becoming essentially permanent background music in the choir room returned, Blaine sitting back down on the chair shyly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Schue exhaled and acknowledged what he said. “It makes sense. Anyone is welcome to audition, that includes Sebastian.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine hated the way that affirmation made him warm up a little, biting his cheek to stop that smile threatening to break on his face, one he didn’t even understand why it was there. As Mr Schue turned to the whiteboard, Artie wheeled around in his chair and beckoned with his head at Blaine, Tina, Brittney and Unique, leaning in so they could all hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That ‘New Rachel’ competition I was talking about? After auditions, in the auditorium,” he whispered. Blaine nodded, resolve settling on his face as he leant back into the chair - he was born to lead, this would be no big deal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the glee club meeting went by in a bit of a blur, Mr Schue going on about setlist ideas which were all from at least 2 decades ago, Blaine not really paying any attention. He spent most of the time staring at his phone, debating whether or not to text Sebastian; he still couldn’t get over the fact that the boy actually now went to this school, the idea still kind of seeming like a weird mass hallucination. Once Mr Schue dismissed them, the group trailed out, Blaine being one of the last to leave alongside Brittany and Sam.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two blondes seemed close, which was nice - he had a kinship of sorts with Brit because he knew how much she missed Santana was on par with how much he missed Kurt. His boyfriend popped into his head and he felt a huge wave of guilt; he hadn’t even thought about how this whole Sebastian would affect him, he’d been too selfishly wrapped up in his own problems. It was no secret that Kurt hated Sebastian more than pretty much anyone else, so the thought of telling his boyfriend he would now be spending most days with him was terrifying, not wanting to do anything to upset him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he headed out the door, both Sam and Brittany stepped next to him, walking alongside him in union. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, Blaine Warbler, now that Sebastian Warbler is here, maybe this will feel a bit more like the Hogwarts place you went to,” Brittany announced, threading her arm through his, her voice light and airy as usual. He was pretty sure that she thought his real last name was Warbler, which was slightly endearing if not worrying, but her comment didn’t come off patronising or judgemental which was nice of her. On his other side Sam gave him a light smile, a hand on the strap of his bag and the other in his pocket. His obvious crush on Brit was pretty cute, Blaine had to admit, but he was already scared for him if Santana ever found out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, dude, I’m with you on the whole no drama front. Plus, without him the Warblers probably won’t do as well, and with him we’ll probably do better, and I really wanna get to nationals again,” Sam followed. Blaine felt himself agreeing with his logic - he wanted to go to nationals more than anything this year, determined to show the graduates that they didn’t need them to do well, and make Kurt proud of him. Without Sebastian the Warblers had lost their leader, and they gained a very valuable player who shouldn’t be underestimated. He returned the smile and waved them both goodbye when they left at the end of the corridor, Blaine feeling a little calmer than he did earlier with the reassurance from them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking up to head towards his locker and get all his bits now that the day was over, he spotted the cause of all this drama facing into a locker of his own on the opposite side of the corridor, head slightly tucked into it and one strap of his bag on his shoulder. Sebastian in ‘normal’ clothes was still unsettling, looking both older and more vulnerable than he did in the Dalton blue and red. The uniform gave a protection, and assertion of power which had now been stripped back, but without it Sebastian was still confident and tall, shoulders seeming broader and legs longer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>If he’d been worried about Sebastian being on the receiving end of any bullying he was quickly reassured, the sight of him so effortlessly standing there looking handsome and athletic, his cocky face meant that he could fit in with any crowd he chose, not one to be picked on. He also permanently looked a bit like simply being inside Mckinley would make him throw up, face semi-disgusted the whole time in a  way that shouldn’t have been as cute as it was. His head turned, eyes meeting Blaine’s, and he knew he’d been caught staring, trying to fight off his face heating up. Sebastian cocked an eyebrow and gave him a smile, looking way too pleased with himself. Smug bastard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine just rolled his eyes and made his way over, hand clasped on the strap of his satchel firmly. “You caused quite a stir in Glee club just now,” he announced, stopping in front of him and leaning against the cool metal of the lockers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian chuckled and put a book away, slamming his door shut. “Interesting, I wasn’t even there - glad to know just the idea of me could be so exciting.” His tone was suggestive as ever, words lazily rolling off his tongue. Blaine swallowed and looked away, foot tapping on the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, we’re all a little dramatic, so,” he muttered, wincing at the flashbacks of yelling and drama. “Please try not to be too much of an ass, I defended you in there and asked them all to be amicable towards you, so don’t throw me under the bus by acting like a complete dick.” He was aware that he sounded a little pleading, voice higher than usual, but he couldn't help it - if he had just wasted his breath saying that Sebastian deserved to not be hated this year he would not only look like an idiot but lose some of his credibility as a leader. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian had the audacity to look a little surprised, eyes widening slightly at Blaine’s admittal of defending him. “I’ll try my best; I did promise to be nice, remember,” he said, as he turned his body, so they were now facing one another. He swallowed a little, voice softening. “You didn’t have to defend me Anderson, I’m a big boy and I can take care of myself.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know that,” Blaine replied, meeting his eyes with a light shrug. “But I also know this must suck pretty hard for you, and your senior year shouldn’t be spent in a total depressive state.” He straightened up, smoothing down his creaseless polo and patted Sebastian on the shoulder quickly, not letting his fingers linger too long. “I’ll see you at auditions, bring your A-game.” And with that he gave a light smile and headed off to his own locker, unable to hide the spring in his step.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d spent all day looking forward to calling Kurt for their scheduled talk in the evening  - it was what kept him going through the long day of lessons and the whole Sebastian debacle - however he was only able to text a little as Kurt was moving into their new place and fixing it up. The thought of living alone with Rachel Berry in a place with no walls was kind of his worst nightmare, but it sounded like Kurt was happy and that was all that mattered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As their skype chat started, he let his boyfriend give him a little virtual tour of the place - admittedly there wasn’t anything to look at just yet, but he trusted Kurt’s vision - and give him a run-down of everything he had applied for. He’d enthusiastically shown his support towards the internship application at Vogue, practically congratulating him already as he knew he would get it. After half an hour or so of listening to Kurt talk, his boyfriend asked about McKinley, and their second day back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was the first glee club meeting today, right? Where you were going to talk about auditions?” Blaine nodded, nerves creeping into his body as he realised he was going to have to bring up Sebastian. Kurt clapped his hands excitedly, crossing his legs beneath him so his knees were just visible on Blaine’s screen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you looking forward to them? Obviously you won’t be able to replace all of us, but it'll be exciting to get some fresh meat!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine took a deep breath and nodded slowly, toying with his fingers in his lap, throat suddenly a bit dry. “Yeah, uh, something actually happened that I should probably mention,” he said, voice a lot quieter and more strained than usual, Kurt’s eyes narrowing at his tone. He swallowed and looked at the side before continuing. “We actually have a new transfer at McKinley, Sebastian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The silence was deafening. Kurt looked so still Blaine actually had to check to see if his screen had frozen - unfortunately it hadn’t. “His dad made him, as some kind of weird punishment, it’s not like the situation with the Vocal Adrenaline guy or anything,” he continued, wanting to fill the silence. Kurt was looking at him as if Blaine had personally invited him to transfer, which everyone seemed to be doing recently for some reason, like this was even his fault. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he even in the McKinley district? I’m sure we could get him kicked out,” Kurt finally said, lips like two lines pursed tightly on his face. Blaine scrunched his nose and stopped himself from having a go at him - why was the first thing he said trying to get him to leave, as if Sebastian himself wouldn’t have already exhausted all possibilities?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I don’t know, he boarded at Dalton, so his dad’s house could be anywhere really,” Blaine said slowly, realising he actually knew very little about Sebastian’s home life. “But I want this year to be good, and for things to go well, and he’s here and there isn’t anything we can do about it, so I made sure to tell everyone to be nice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt barked out a laugh, eyebrows raised as his screen flickered a little with the sudden movement. “Seriously Blaine? Be nice? After what he did to you?” The anger in his voice made Blaine mad for some reason, realising this was the first thing they’d spoken about that wasn’t New York for like, a week now, and he was being yelled at. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He crossed his arms and felt a frown settle on his face. “I know what he did, it was done to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Kurt, remember? I just don’t want to make anyone else’s life hard; I want to do well in school, get to nationals, and graduate so I can go to New York, ok? Also the guy clearly hates it at McKinley, I’ve never seen anyone look so bored and miserable all at once.” He sighed out, some of the anger leaving his body as he felt the weariness set in. “Can we not fight please? We’re both tired, and I don’t want something dumb like Sebastian getting in the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His dismissal of Sebastian seemed to please Kurt, whose face softened a little. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day, we shouldn’t argue. Look, I have to run, Rachel wants some help running lines - same time tomorrow?” Blaine felt his heart sink a little, but he knew his boyfriend was busy and didn’t want to be selfish, happy that they at least ended it on a good note. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>They said their goodbyes, Blaine climbing into his bed not soon after, just wanting to go to sleep and move on from this weird day. Just as he was lying down, his phone lit up next to him, the brightness of the screen cutting through the dark. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sebastian [22:56]</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>thanks for today. looking forward to showing all of you what a real performance is tomorrow</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt himself unable not to smile at his phone, the second time in his life he had ever heard of a thank you from the other boy; those words were not really in his vocabulary. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>Blaine [22:58]</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>don’t get too cocky, we beat you last year you know</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sebastian [22:59]</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>if only you had beaten me last year ;)</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His fingers halted above the screen, the blatant innuendo burning into his eyes. A part of him had naively thought the flirting would stop, but he probably should’ve known better than to think that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>Blaine [23:04]</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>sebastian. boyfriend. remember?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sebastian [23:05]</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>relax killer i was kidding, wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that beautiful relationship of yours. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>Sebastian [23:06]</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>goodnight anderson, see you tomorrow</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine stared at his phone, hurriedly setting it down before he could reply, not wanting to add any more fuel to the fire. He groaned and let his head flop down onto the mattress, hand dragging over his face. This was going to be a long year.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prospect of people actually wanting to audition for the New Directions was very exciting; usually they just picked up whatever stragglers they could find who could get over the whole slushie thing. Despite that, Blaine knew he and Tina were on the same wavelength about the prospect of a lot of new talented people, and maybe it was selfish, but it was their senior year and Blaine didn’t want to be reduced to the back for his last chance to compete. Sue him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unique was new but she didn’t have to audition, everyone agreed, seeing as they all saw her absolutely kill at nationals, so didn’t want to waste time making her get up and sing when it would be an automatic yes. He had mentioned to them that they also all had seen Sebastian perform before, but the New Directions decided he needed a thorough look at, a chance to see him without the Warblers or whatever. It didn’t really make too much sense but the whole topic was still very touchy, so he knew not to push it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine settled into the front row of their seats, behind Mr Schue at his desk, hands pressed firmly into the seat in front of him. All the New Directions had a similar buzz about them, eager at the prospect of getting to actually audition people, and a little nervous about who they'd end up with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Schue started calling them in, and Blaine was quickly reminded of what it was like to be in a popular show choir - anyone and everyone would audition, and most of them were </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span>. As in, seemingly had no idea what pitch or tempo even was because fucking hell they were bad. He remembered being part of the Warblers and the majority of Dalton would want to get in, and the excruciating hours they spent listening to people who sounded pretty similar to Stoner Brett, who was currently murdering a song on stage - beating it to a slow and painful death with his voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Judging by what they had seen so far, at McKinley they’d probably have to be a little more accepting, by the consistent poor standard and the fact they needed more people to be able to compete. A quiet brunette girl then made her way onto the stage, telling her name to be Marley Rose, practically vibrating with nerves and excitement as she stood in front of the microphone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as she started singing, they all knew she was in - her rendition of New York State of Mind was utterly breath-taking, causing Blaine to look back at Tina to share a look they both understood, even if it was a little childish and petty. The girl could sing, that’s for sure, and looked surprisingly humble for someone with that much talent when she finished and laughed nervously, thanking them repeatedly for their applause. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Schue looked relieved that they had finally come across someone in the school that could sing, relaxing in his chair a little as auditions trailed on. An attractive looking guy was the only other promising one, with outstanding vocals but a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span> attitude, kicking over music stands as he was cut off, leaving them all a little speechless. After he left they were all silent for a bit, mouths open in shock at the scene they just witnessed, Blaine looking over at Sam to mouth a “what the fuck”. Mr Schue shook his head quickly, getting out of his shock and called out, “Next,” whilst the band kids picked up the discarded stand and sheet music. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was studying his fingernails when he heard a, “here we fucking go,” from the row behind him, looking up to see Sebastian striding onto the stage, dressed as casually as he was yesterday with a loose jumper, jeans, and white trainers, although he didn’t doubt how expensive they probably were. Flicking Tina behind him to shut her up, he gave Sebastian a small smile and thumbs up in support, ignoring the way everyone rolled their eyes at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Honestly, he wasn’t too sure where this whole defence of Sebastian came from; their friendship in junior year was fairly short lived and they hadn't had any contact since regionals. But, it was the all too familiar feeling of being somewhere you weren’t quite sure you fit that made him empathise - and he had </span>
  <em>
    <span>chosen</span>
  </em>
  <span> to move to McKinley, whilst the other boy was forced, which made it even harder for him. He was just intriguing really, and him being at this school still didn’t make a lot of sense to him, and Blaine was itching to know more whether he liked it or not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian apparently just liked to make things harder for everybody as he shot Blaine a wink from the stage, causing him to slide down his seat in embarrassment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, my name is Sebastian Smythe, and I am auditioning for the New Directions,” he drawled, patronisingly formal and practised, grinning up at all of them lazily. “I promise I won't trash the auditorium if you cut me off.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Him auditioning was fairly pointless; everyone had seen what he could do, and Blaine reckoned that Mr Schue probably would’ve just let him join without. But, he could tell that for Sebastian this wasn’t about getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>in</span>
  </em>
  <span> the glee club - he could do that in his sleep - this was about proving himself and, well, showing off, trying to make them want him. And Blaine couldn’t blame him, he had wanted to impress everyone when he joined too, hence the rather over the top outdoor performance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, thanks Sebastian - whenever you’re ready,” Mr Schue called out, signalling with his hand that he could begin. The tall boy on the stage nodded, lifting up the hem of his jumper to pull it over his head, Blaine very much not focusing on the smooth muscles that were revealed as his t-shirt was briefly raised. Sugar nearly purred behind him though, which he barely stifled a laugh at. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, the opening notes of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ rang out and Blaine was definitely not expecting that. He soon realised why Sebastian had chosen the number, not just showing off his vocals which were frustratingly good, but also it allowed him to dance - properly dance. The whole thing was unbelievable, hitting vocal runs and displaying range, as well as the agility and flexibility in his movements. Blaine realised that he was a little worried, his previous stance as thinking he was the most talented and suited to being in lead now threatened a bit by Sebastian. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the New Directions had similarly complex faces, some pure amazement and seemingly enjoying the show, others in horrified silence. No one could tear their gaze away though, Mr Schue clearly not even thinking about cutting him short. It was electric, Blaine unable to take his eyes off of him, and he now understood how he could’ve taken over the Warblers so quickly; he probably would’ve followed someone who could perform the way that he did. Sebastian finished his number, returning back to centre stage with a light sheen of sweat on his skin and slightly out of breath, but not the extreme panting that Blaine would probably be doing, either that or passed out completely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all clapped, a little less enthusiastically than Sebastian deserved, but he also didn’t seem too surprised, just giving them a light bow, before going to pick up his discarded jumper and left the stage, waving teasingly at them all as he left. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like we found a new member of the New Directions,” Mr Schue announced, smiling back at them and shuffling his papers together to their complete silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>After auditions finished, Blaine looked around the school for Sebastian, knowing they had a class together next, finding him by his locker again just like the day before. He spotted him and walked over, smiling as he went. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s safe to say you’re in the New Directions now,” he announced as he stood next to him, giving a little nudge with his shoulder. “Seriously, you killed it up there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian closed his locker and leant against the metal, hands shoved in his pockets. “I told you I’d give a good performance; you don’t need to be so surprised, killer. Now that I’m in the New Directions I can die happy, it’s all I’ve ever wanted” he drawled, monotone and bored. Blaine rolled his eyes and ignored the teasing, resisting the urge to laugh at his joke and give him the satisfaction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just saying, it was great. Especially the dancing, we need all the help we can get with that,” he added, wincing in memory of some of the glee members trying to move. A lot of the worst dancers had left, to be fair, but Mike was their male dancing lead, and he didn’t just perform, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>choreographed</span>
  </em>
  <span> for them, leaving a pretty big hole for them to fill. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them headed off down the corridor, strolling side by side. “I can help choreograph and that for you guys, Schuester seems kinda stuck in the 90’s, and I did pretty much all the Warbler choreography. Not saying I’m going to be part of the happy family but I don’t want to embarrass myself anymore than I have to” Sebastian offered, Blaine nearly tripping over his feet at the completely genuine, helpful comment (even if it was followed by an insult, baby steps). </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would be amazing, without Mike we’re a little shorthanded. Mr Schue is ok, but yeah he could do with a little update,” Blaine chuckled, just pleased he was able to avoid all the white man rapping that the teacher had apparently done a lot of during Kurt’s sophomore year. They arrived at their math class, Blaine going in first with Sebastian following, trying not to feel pleased when he sat in the chair next to him without saying anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He realised that most of the conversations they’d had so far had been extremely pleasant, and he had actually enjoyed Sebastian’s company, even in the day and a half they’d seen each other. They settled into class in comfortable silence, Blaine often looking over at Sebastian’s work to see the lines of neat, attentive handwriting, similar to his own. Several times they shared light smiles at the teacher’s remarks, the work expectancy at McKinley was just so much lower than Dalton it was funny. Sebastian was intelligent anyway, he knew that not just from the fact it was obvious when you spoke to him, but from how often he worked, and several comments made by other Warblers when they spoke. Similarly to Blaine, he seemed to realise that being smart at Dalton basically meant being a genius at McKinley, and his furiously scribbled notes eased up a little as they went on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bell rang and they stood up to go, Blaine needing to head to the auditorium for the ‘New Rachel’ competition Artie had coined. As he left, he realised Sebastian was still walking alongside him, his long legs slowly moving to compensate for Blaine’s shorter ones. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thought I’d tag along for this whole sing off about replacing Berry if that’s cool,” Sebastian announced, causing Blaine to halt to a sudden stop. He whipped around, nose scrunched up as he stared at the taller boy, taking a small step back when he realised they were so close. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian looked confused for a second, then started to laugh, gently waving his arms across his chest and shaking his head. “Jesus, Anderson, don’t attack me, I didn’t mean tag along as in compete, just to watch and maybe help the wheelchair kid pick the winner.” Blaine felt himself blush a little, scratching the back of his head and mumbling out an apology for his aggressive movement. He hated the way fear had exploded into him at the thought of Sebastian wanting top spot, as he knew there was a chance he could easily do it. He became captain of the Warblers as a brand new junior, when there was no such thing as a captain of the Warblers, so Blaine didn’t doubt his ability to get what he wanted. He hated how insecure he’d become lately, not like his old self had been.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax, Blaine, believe it or not I’m not trying to swoop in and take over. Besides, with you here why would I need to be in charge, you’re the most talented guy I know,” Sebastian added, his eyes boring into him in that honest way only he could, almost making Blaine uncomfortable, but not quite. He gave him a smile then turned to keep walking, not sure what to reply with, nothing really feeling appropriate to say back. Sebastian’s eyes burned into the back of him as the taller boy paused before catching up with him, Blaine really not wanting to think about where he’d been looking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Call Me Maybe’ was a really weird choice. It didn’t showcase any of their voices really, but it had been fun to just sing with his friends at least; despite the fact they were competing with another it was still a chance to perform and have fun. Sebastian had sat next to Artie, the two of them watching intently and whispering to one another throughout, although Blaine only ever saw the taller boy looking at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’d decided they needed more time to decide - well, Artie decided, Sebastian looked pretty certain - so the 6 of them left the auditorium to go to glee rehearsals, Blaine certain that the whole thing was kind of a waste of time. As he went to leave, Tina pulled on his arm to hold him back, gesturing for the others to go ahead without them. Sebastian faltered slightly, looking to Blaine but she just swatted her hand in his direction to make him leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“TT, what’s wrong?” he asked as she dropped his arm from her grip. Blaine looked at her face, the two of them alone up on the auditorium stage, only the hum of the lights making sound. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>She fixed him with a look, lips pursed slightly but her eyes still affectionate. “Blaine, I love you, I’m just a bit worried about Sebastian, that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groaned, rocking back on his feet slightly, annoyed and frustrated at her comment. Everyone seemed to think that not only was Sebastian completely Blaine’s responsibility, but that he had invited him to the school himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tina, don’t. It’s really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> weird that he’s here, I know that. The whole thing is kinda fucked up, but I also imagine it’s hard for him, and maybe I just don’t want to do anything that’ll make this year worse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tina smiled softly at him, pulling him towards her gently with a hand on his forearm. “I know, and I think it’s admirable that you’re being so kind. But the guy is into you; he’s constantly eye fucking you and staring at your ass, Blaine,” she said, tugging on his arm when he looked away in embarrassment. “Just be careful. I don’t trust him. I mean, he’s the preppiest guy I’ve ever met, it’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he’s here. I feel like he’s going to do something.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded dumbly at her, not wanting to say anything back, arguing pointless - but denial also pointless. Sebastian had been shamelessly hitting on him since day 1, and, although he would never admit it, a part of him did like it. He made him feel wanted, sexy even, and just </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was dangerous, and now he was here at McKinley, it was deadly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love Kurt, TT. It doesn’t matter about Sebastian, plus he’ll flirt with anything and only cares about the physical side of things anyway, it’s all just a joke to him. I know it’s strange he’s here, trust me, I still can’t really believe it, but we have to at least give him the benefit of the doubt, you know?” Tina sighed and rubbed a gentle circle on his forearm, then leaned forwards to press a kiss to his cheek and grabbed his hand, starting to lead them out of the auditorium.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, Blainers, I’ll try not to attack him, but I will be keeping my eye out,” she replied, taking his silence as complacency. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they arrived in the choir room everyone else was already there, including the girl Marley from auditions, who looked a combination of terrified and ecstatic, standing nervously next to Mr Schue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok guys, I hope you remember Marley from earlier on; she’s going to be joining us in the New Directions!” he announced, the rest of the room clapping. Mr Schue looked over at Sebastian, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow and bored expression. “And I hadn’t actually spoken to him, but I think we all know that Sebastian is in the club too,” Mr Schue added, flashing an apologetic smile. A slighter smaller round of applause broke out, Sebastian just chuckling at them and walking over to slump down in a chair near the back, looking fairly bored and over the whole situation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine wasn’t entirely sure what the purpose of this ‘rehearsal’ was, seeing as they didn’t actually sing anything, and it mainly consisted of Mr Schue explaining the way show choir worked to Marley, but it still felt strange to have Sebastian in the choir room next to him. He fired off a couple texts to Kurt, filling him in on the day and what he’d done, starting to miss his boyfriend a lot more; each day was getting harder the longer they were apart. He’d transferred schools to be with him because he hated being so far away but now that Kurt was in New York, it just seemed so fruitless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian seemed to be half paying attention to what was going on, at one point Blaine thought he was in a staring contest with Sugar across the room, and he shot a middle finger up at Tina when she gave him an eerily threatening look, but apart from that it seemed to go pretty well. Maybe he could get used to this after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next few days seemed to go surprisingly decently, Blaine finding himself settling into his senior year with more comfort than he thought. His and Kurt’s evening calls all went ahead, facetiming whilst watching tv and catching up with each other, Blaine learning that just not bringing up Sebastian was for the best. The day after their competition, Artie pulled the 4 of them aside and informed them that Blaine was henceforth the ‘New Rachel’, aka the official lead of the group, that affirmation making him happier than he thought possible. Singing and performing were what he did best, and what he loved, so being appreciated in that way meant a lot. The grin and wink Sebastian sent his way had helped a little as well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian alternated his time with the New Directions and some of the less awful jocks, as he’d joined the basketball and soccer teams pretty quickly. McKinley didn’t have a lacrosse team, which was his favoured sport, but Blaine found out it didn't matter too much as he seemed to be athletically skilled across the board. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He never wore his letterman jacket though, once claiming it to be tacky, which Blaine had laughed at, not realising Sebastian was particularly fashion orientated, but his turned up nose at the red jacket was pretty funny. He was secretly glad he didn’t wear it, as he used to find those letterman jackets super hot and that combination was just not one he could deal with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>At first he wasn’t sure if Sebastian was out of the closet at McKinley, as he never saw him being teased or harassed - not even by the more Neanderthal like jocks. It was a lot better than it was for Kurt, but Blaine sometimes got the odd comment here and there about his sexuality, which he never saw directed towards Sebastian. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>After once eating with him and his sports friends at lunch and having him blatantly flirt with him and talk about a previous hook up, Blaine realised that Sebastian had always been out, but no one cared, and they all liked him. It was remarkable really, but he was still proud of the taller boy for staying out the closet at a public school, one much less tolerant than Dalton, as he knew no matter what face he put on, it could be hard. Sebastian’s infiltration of the straight jock culture and being unashamedly gay was fairly impressive really, and his rise to popularity in the school had definitely had a knock on effect to some of the sexuality microaggressions that had started to decrease. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was one uncomfortable moment where one of the jocks had just assumed that he and Sebastian were dating and referred to them as boyfriends, which would have felt very inclusive and respectful on any other occasion, apart from the detail that the two of them were most  certainly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> together. Sebastian had just laughed, throwing his arm over his shoulder and calling him “sweetie”, to which Blaine had turned bright red and shoved him off, trying to clear up the situation as best as he could, not to much avail. He was pretty sure the entire soccer team thought they were sleeping together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their glee club had also grown by one more, as it turned out the angry kid from auditions was actually Puck’s half-brother, so Mr Schue had made it his weird personal mission to get overly invested in his pupil’s lives again and make him join. Blaine couldn’t be too annoyed though, as they still needed more people if they were to compete at sectionals, which weren’t ridiculously far off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rehearsals went well, even after the weird week where Brittany had a bit of a meltdown and tried to shave her head after being kicked off the cheerios. Sebastian had tried to question the worth of delaying an entire week of preparation by singing only Brittany Spears songs, but Blaine just reassured him this was the sort of thing they did around here, and it was best not to fight it. So they ended up singing a mashup of Boys and Boyfriend to her instead, Blaine hating how good their voices sounded with each other. And if he noticed Brittany giving Sebastian a hug once they left the choir room, he didn’t say anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next week rehearsals shifted back to normal - well, normal for them anyway. Mr Schue started up a new lesson about something or other, when Sebastian had lazily stuck his hand in the air and gave his usual look of bored and a bit annoyed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Schuester, not to be a dick or anything, but shouldn’t we be preparing for sectionals?” he drawled out, earning him narrowed eyes and a sigh from the teacher. Blaine tensed up a little, not sure if he was liking the way this conversation was heading. Mr Schue put his hands on his hips and set his marker pen down, trying to give a relaxed smile at his new student whilst probably mentally cursing him out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By expanding our musical horizons and becoming closer as a team we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> preparing for Sectionals, Sebastian. We need to become a bit closer knit if we’re going to win the competition.” Blaine could feel the strain in his voice, and he exchanged worried glances with Sam and Tina, debating whether or not to step in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian sat forwards in his seat and gestured around the room with one hand. “You realise we currently only have 11 members right? We can’t be a close knit team if we don’t even have a team viable to compete in the competition. The Warblers probably have a finalised set list by now and yet we sit around listening to you rap and Tina cry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jake rolled his eyes at him and turned his head from where he’d been not so subtly staring at Marley. “Dude, we’re not the Warblers though, maybe we do things a little differently.” The tension in the room was growing a bit, and Blaine felt Sam nudging his arm next to him. Sebastian fixed Jake with a raised eyebrow and scoffed at him, fists clenched down by his side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust me, I’m well aware this isn’t the Warblers; don’t think I’m not reminded of that every day. I’m just saying, if I </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be stuck in this cesspit of a school, I at least want to win our competitions and think we should get a move on with it rather than sitting around singing Kumbaya every fucking week when most people in this room can barely do a step ball change!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Schuester clapped his hand down on the piano, the sound reverberating through the room loudly. “That’s enough! This is not Dalton, and this is how we do things here. It is not up for debate, and I won’t take any more.” Sebastian huffed out his nose and slung his bag over his shoulder, angrily standing up from his chair to move towards the door. Blaine stood up before he realised it, making his way over to him and reaching out to his arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sebastian, wait,” he said, trying to pull on his elbow but his hand was swatted away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t need your pity Anderson, just leave it off,” Sebastian muttered back, his jaw clenched as he spoke. Blaine watched him leave the choir room and his heart sunk a little, not able to follow him out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Sebastian’s little outburst in glee club, Blaine tried to find him the rest of the day but he was nowhere to be seen; he tried not to feel worried but something about the taller boy just set him on edge, and he had this strange urge to be friends with him even if he didn’t really deserve it. At the end of the day, Blaine had given up on trying to find him, his texts gone unanswered so he just headed to the car park instead, wanting to get home and try and skype Kurt as soon as he could. When he saw his car however, the ex Warbler was leant against it, one foot tucked over the other and lazily smoking, something which Blaine really shouldn’t find attractive but </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jesus</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He approached cautiously, not wanting to give him any reason to be spooked and leave. “Those things won’t help your singing, you know,” he said as he got closer, Sebastian looking up at the sound of his voice and smirking a little, taking one last toke then dropping it to the floor and crushing it under his toe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think my singing is fine enough, killer, plus I don’t make a habit of it, only every now and then.” He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, still leaning against Blaine’s car as if he owned it. “Your glee club kinda sucks, you know that, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine kicked his foot against the ground, not wanting to agree with Sebastian as he had a fierce loyalty to the New Directions, and he loved the people in that room, but he could also see where he was coming from, especially after the transition from Dalton. “It doesn’t suck, it’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>different</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The Warblers do things a certain way and we do it differently, and it works. I know it’s probably not what you want, but I also don’t think it’s going to change, so I think you’ll just have to get used to it,” Blaine sighed, shrugging a little and staring at his car door, not wanting to look the other boy in the eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard a scoff and saw Sebastian cross his arms in annoyance. “You do realise that within a few weeks of me joining Dalton I overturned the council and made myself captain right? What’s to say I couldn’t do the same here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine turned to him in disbelief, trying not to allow Sebastian to get a rise out of him when that’s clearly what he wanted. “Because that’s not how it works here, I told you! I love the Warblers but they look for someone to lead them, and they’re ruthlessly ambitious, caring more about winning and the ‘brotherhood’ than anything else. Here at McKinley it’s messy and frustrating, and they don’t respond well to people trying to take over. You told me that you didn’t want to, that you thought I was capable?” His voice trailed off a little at the end, hating how weak he sounded, basically contradicting himself and any confidence that he had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian pushed himself off the car and took a step forward so he was directly in front of him. Blaine could smell the tobacco clinging to his jumper, mingled in with the expensive cologne he wore daily, and he tried not to let himself breathe it in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> capable, Anderson. I said you were the most talented person I know and I meant it. But I also want to win, and I think that you do too. Don’t let me down.” Sebastian gave him one final look, eyes flickering down to his lips for the briefest second before walking away, Blaine only releasing his breath once he was completely alone, head spinning and heart pounding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. politics and performance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had officially been a month since Kurt had left for New York, and with every passing day Blaine was realising how big of a part in his life his boyfriend played, as if an entire chunk of him was missing now that he was gone. He knew it was probably a little unhealthy, but he couldn’t help it - he loved Kurt, and without him there he just had less direction. Joining practically every club the school had to offer helped fill up some of his time, but with every unanswered text and missed call, everything felt like it was starting to slowly slip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was staring at the bulletin board in the corridor when he felt Sebastian come and stand next him, shoulder to shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there anything you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a part of, Anderson?” he heard, ignoring the way his shoulder felt like it was burning as they touched together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like to be busy, and it’ll look good on my college applications,” Blaine replied defiantly, not feeling like he had to explain himself to anyone, let alone him. If he was feeling tetchy because Kurt hadn’t texted him back all day, that was a different matter. After his first outburst in glee practice Sebastian had walked back in the next day, sitting in the back of the choir room with a neutral expression on his face, silent for the whole meeting, in what Blaine thought was a somewhat apologetic gesture, as opposed to his usual criticism and complaints. It was a step in the right direction at least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian hummed next to him, eyes looking over the bulletin board dotted with flyers. His eyes settled on one, and before Blaine knew what he was doing the taller boy was writing down a name on the sign up for student council.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t think politics was your thing,” he said, confused as to why Sebastian would ever want to be senior class president for a school he explicitly hated, and wished it’s entire existence to burn to the ground pretty much every other day.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy scoffed and pointed at what he had just written, lifting an eyebrow down at him expectantly. “It’s not, it’s yours,” he said, finger just underneath the name ‘Blaine Anderson’ which had been neatly written on the sign up list. He spluttered, turning to stare at Sebastian, no idea why he did that. “Excuse me? Were you going to even ask me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian just rolled his eyes and adjusted his backpack, looking bored. “No, I was going to write that if you saw it or not, to be honest. Trust me, you’d be good at it and could actually make a difference in this disgrace of a school, and nothing else would be better for your college applications,” he explained, annoyingly making a lot of sense. He leaned in closer, putting his head next to Blaine’s so he was nearly whispering in his ear, “Plus, I bet you look sexy as hell in a suit.” With that he winked and walked away, ignoring Blaine’s noises of protest, which weren’t as strong as they should’ve been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Student council was one of Sebastian’s better ideas; Blaine realised that it was exactly what he needed to focus on, and that it would also impress Kurt. His boyfriend’s new internship was incredible, Blaine almost bursting with pride every time he thought about it, but the loneliness which accompanied it wasn’t as good. He understood how busy it made him during the day, but he couldn’t help but feel that he was being ignored on his off time as well, Kurt pushing back skype dates or cancelling them altogether in favour of going out with Rachel, and the only thing he ever wanted to talk about was Vogue. But, if Blaine got senior class president he knew how proud Kurt would be, and everything would get so much better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brittany had insisted on Sam as his running mate, and although at first he was a little hesitant, he realised that the blond would help him win over more people, and the guy actually cared too. Since sticking up for him and Sebastian back in the first week, he’d gained a lot of respect for him, realising that this partnership could be a good thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d suggested grabbing a coffee together to discuss campaign and strategy, which is how the two of them ended up in the Lima Bean one day after school, going through different presidential speeches and platforms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, should I do a Bush impersonation in the debate, or nah?” Sam asked, scratching at his forehead. Blaine raised his eyebrows and thought very hard on what to say, not wanting to insult his vice president when he really did mean well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, no man, you’re good just being yourself don’t worry about it,” he replied, breathing out when that seemed to make the blond boy happy, a large goofy grin on his face. They sat going through notes for a bit, until Sam put down what he was reading and leant back in the chair, turning his attention to Blaine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How’s things with Kurt? Must be pretty hard with him all the way in New York.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His question took Blaine by surprise, freezing at the mention of Kurt’s name. “Oh, no, things are great, nothing wrong there,” he stuttered, not even convincing himself, sounding pretty pathetic. Sam didn’t look impressed, but also didn’t look like he was judging him, instead having a sympathetic expression on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, it’s ok. Long distance is hard, and I know Kurt - I lived with the guy, he can get a little intense about his own business sometimes so I get it,” Sam said, looking at him softly. Clearly his overcompensation with the clubs and his exaggerated enthusiasm hadn’t been fooling everybody, and he lost the will to keep pretending anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s hard, man. I just barely talk to him anymore, and when I do, it’s all about New York, and I can’t seem to get a word in edgeways. I told him I’m running for student council and the very next day he’d forgotten already; it just feels like I’m losing him.” Blaine spoke quickly, words rushing out as if a floodgate had been opened and he was unable to stop himself, saying the things he had barely even allowed himself to think. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam nodded sympathetically, reaching over to pat him on the knee. “You know what, that sucks, that really does. But don’t do all this for Kurt, do it for yourself, ‘cos you’re good at it and you want to. Let yourself be happy and take control of your life dude!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to agree with what Sam was saying. He was right, he knew that, but it was just so hard to hear when so much of his life was shaped around Kurt and what he thought. Doing things for yourself was easier when you knew yourself enough to do what made you happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least you and Sebastian are getting along though, it would’ve sucked if that whole situation was a problem,” Sam added, picking up some papers again to start shifting through them. “He’s not actually too much of an asshole yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt himself smiling in agreement, still not used to the fact that Sebastian Smythe was currently his high school friend. They didn’t see each other all the time like he thought they would, instead it felt like the other boy was trying to give him space at times, like he didn’t want to intrude. It was intriguing, and left him constantly wanting to just shake his shoulders and yell, ask him to just act normal and not float around him, but he also knew some degree of separation was probably for the best. Sebastian clearly hated McKinley, as if he was allergic to it, but he still had more friends than most people Blaine knew and thrived at everything, even if he probably didn’t mean to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since the first time he laid eyes on him the attraction was there, something which he tried so hard to stop but physically couldn’t. And now he was around all of the time, it was dangerous, and made him think about doing something stupid. He loved Kurt, and was faithful to him, but this intense loneliness didn’t want to seem to go away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He and Sam continued in the Lima Bean for a while, continuing their preparations for the debate tomorrow, Blaine feeling more and more confident in his campaign and running mate as the day went on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The debate didn’t make him too nervous. Brittany was kind and talented, but also the worst senior class president that the school had ever seen, which helped crush a lot of fear he would have. Plus, he was well prepared, having spent hours last night on his notes, helped by the fact that Kurt had cancelled their skype date. He didn’t want to think about that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he waited in the wings, watching Sam and Artie kick things off with their vice president speeches, he felt a body come up next to him, hating how he could tell it was Sebastian from the scent of his cologne, expensive and crisp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, good luck out there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned at the sound of the voice, looking to see Sebastian standing next to him with his hands in his pockets, partly hidden by the shadows of the curtains.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh hey, Sebastian… you didn’t have to come,” Blaine replied, a bit of warmth flooding his chest at the fact he’d come to see him and speak to him beforehand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know I kind of forced you into all of this, and that it’s kind of my fault you’ve had to do all the work, but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> done all the work and you deserve it, so…” he trailed off, looking down at the ground. Blaine realised that on stage his running mate was currently stripping, and he only wondered for a moment where he got a tearaway suit from, before he returned his attention to the boy in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t really force me… plus, I’m grateful for it, this is one of the best things that I could do with my time, and it’s because you believed in me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other boy just shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but Blaine could tell he really cared, so without thinking he leaned over and tugged him into his arms, pulling him in for a hug. They had never had this much contact before, and he had obviously surprised Sebastian who was frozen for a second before he wrapped his arms around his waist, squeezing lightly. He tried to ignore the way their bodies fit, and the scent of his cologne flooding his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine pulled back when the sound of loud applause hit his ears, Sam was finishing up his stripping, which apparently signalled the end of the debate. His running mate jogged off to join him, Blaine trying to look anywhere but his semi-naked body whereas Sebastian didn’t seem to have the same concerns. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think that went really well, dude, you got this!” Sam patted him on the back and gave a civil nod to Sebastian before heading backstage, hopefully to get dressed. Blaine took one last deep breath and made his way onto the floor, feeling more ready than ever. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cheers and clapping flooded Breadstix, a suspiciously large amount of confetti spiralling down on several occasions into the restaurant, Blaine feeling pretty bad for whoever had to clean all this up. Winning had become inevitable after Brittany’s weird rant about never letting them out of the school, but even without that Blaine had liked his chances, happy with what he delivered. And Sam’s stripping, which arguably helped a lot more than his speech.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Celebrating felt hollow, though. The whole victory felt hollow, when he couldn’t even get Kurt to answer his calls. He tried so hard to remember what Sam said, to think about doing this for himself, but when he knew deep down that he did all of it for Kurt, he couldn’t help but be crushed when it was for nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He probably looked miserable, sitting at a table by himself at what should be his own victory party, but Sam was entertaining everyone and he looked pathetic enough that no one would want to bother him anyway. Well, almost no one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Sebastian sat down in the seat opposite he tried to be surprised, but he knew he wasn’t, not when he always just seemed to be there when he was at his most vulnerable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do realise that we’re all here at this shitty, bacteria infested restaurant because it’s a victory party for you, right?” Sebastian’s voice was teasing and light, but his eyes were staring into him with an intenseness that betrayed a small amount of concern. Blaine didn’t know how he felt about that, this new sudden niceness which Sebastian kept giving him, like an interest in his actual feelings. He just sighed and bit his lip, drumming his fingers against the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do realise that I did all of this so Kurt would be proud of me, but he won’t even return my calls, right?” He was bitter and petty, the hurt rolling off his tongue as he sounded like a child having a tantrum, but he didn’t care, not when he was as hurt and embarrassed as he felt. He’d changed a lot from his time at Dalton, he realised, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anderson, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a fucking idiot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine whipped his head up to stare as Sebastian, even more anger bubbling under the surface, as it seemed that rage was one of the only things he could feel anymore. “How am I not supposed to take that the wrong way?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian just furrowed his brow and leaned forwards, closing some of the distance between them. “You were just elected the first male gay president at your public school, </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> the lead soloist in a national championship show choir, top of most of your classes and still manage to be insufferably nice and kind. And you’re saying you’re doing it for some twink who won’t return your calls when you’re the best thing to ever happen to him? Stop it, you’re worth more than that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His words sunk in, but Blaine couldn’t help but stay angry - insulting Kurt when he’d just said he was heartbroken about him wasn’t what he needed. “Screw you, don’t talk about him like that,” he replied, feeling his cheeks heat up and eyes dampen. Sebastian groaned quietly and ran a hand through his hair, disrupting some of it’s perfect shape. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re still defending him? When he’s the reason you’re upset? Face it, Blaine, you’re not happy, and you need to stop pretending like you are because it's ruining your life,” Sebastian snapped, losing his refined and lazy exterior and revealing an actual fight behind his words, frustration pouring out. He got up and walked away from the table, Blaine letting some of his anger fade as he slipped further into his seat, checking his phone again for a reply, and never getting one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine had left the party not long after Sebastian had spoken to him. He probably should’ve told someone, but he felt like he had no reason to stay, no motivation to sit and ruin the night for anyone else. Sam had come up to him the next day in school and just hugged him, saying he didn’t need to say what was wrong or tell him anything, just that he was there if he needed him. Blaine didn’t think he’d ever hugged someone as tightly as he did in that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d ignored Sebastian the whole day, probably because he knew deep down that what he had said was right, but he was too stubborn to ever admit that, and he was not in the mood to have to start apologising when he felt shitty enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His last class rolled around, and when Sebastian sat down in the seat next to him Blaine sucked in a deep breath, preparing for any passive aggressive comments or weird veiled insults to come his way. Instead, the taller boy had just started talking to him about fractions and equations, rattling off weird facts until the tension between them completely dissolved, and Blaine knew that was his way of apologising and moving on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it was time for his evening skype with Kurt he felt more settled, putting a lot of his previous frustrations down to the stress of the election, causing him to get overly emotional. As soon as his boyfriend’s face appeared on the screen he smiled wide, putting his chin in his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you,” he said, excited to finally be able to talk about the election and his victory, now he’d been able to come to terms with his win better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, only going to be able to make it a quick one tonight, Rachel’s taking me to this new karaoke bar all the NYADA students go to!” Kurt replied, speaking quickly and sinking Blaine’s heart just a little. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh ok, I just wanted to talk about the election-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And did I tell you about what Isabelle said earlier? How she thinks I could come along to the next meeting on berets?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt continued, cutting over Blaine and rambling on about Vogue, not even looking at the screen and just talking. He could feel tears begin to well behind his eyes, blurring his vision slightly as his excitement just crumbled, any hope he had of sharing his news dissolving beneath him. He stared at the monitor, not even able to process what Kurt was saying, instead just feeling a dull heat creep over his body, focusing on the small static lines on the screen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blaine? Are you listening?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sudden increase of volume from his boyfriend’s words jerked him out of the trance, blinking a few times to readjust his eyes, letting a single hot tear leak out of his eye in doing so. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you even care?” he croaked out, hating how small and weak his voice was, cracking ever so slightly as he spoke. Kurt just blinked back at him, eyes narrowing as he looked on, confused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine huffed out a cold laugh, feeling another tear escape down his face. “Kurt, you have sat and spoken about yourself for 15 minutes, not even caring that I called to talk about how I was elected senior class president.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His boyfriend had the audacity to roll his eyes and purse his lips at him. “Oh, come on, that’s not fair, you know how proud of you I am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I? Because that’s the first time you’ve actually told me!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. “I stood by you for every step of the way when you were running, and you can’t even congratulate me for winning!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt looked away from the camera, appearing fuzzy through Blaine’s wet eyes. “Sorry that I have more important things to deal with than high school stuff now, we just have different priorities.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>With every word, cracks appeared in Blaine’s heart, every ounce of fight slipping out from him. “My priority is you, though,” he whispered, wishing he could just reach through the screen to hold his hand, do anything to make him </span>
  <em>
    <span>see</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it? Or is it Sebastian?” he heard come through the screen, the sound of the other boy’s name cutting through the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine blinked heavily, wondering where any of that was coming from. “What? Sebastian?” he spat out; face scrunched up in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt rolled his eyes, lips tight. “Everyone posted pictures of the celebration party, and you were sat with him in most of them, looking particularly cosy. I wasn’t going to mention it, but…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine knew what he meant when he trailed off; he meant that now he’d been accused of being distant, not supportive, he wanted to throw something back in Blaine’s face to take away some of the blame. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t turn this into something it’s not, Kurt. We’re just friends, nothing more,” he replied, starting to feel angry again, this conversation taking one wrong turn after the other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, he’s wanted to fuck you since the moment he laid eyes on you, he’s desperate for the one conquest he could never have,” Kurt said, words like venom. Blaine couldn’t believe that their argument had come back round to Sebastian, him having nothing to do with any of this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, Blaine, I need to go, Rachel’s calling me.” Kurt sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked up through the webcam. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> proud of you, ok? Goodnight.” Before he had the chance to say anything, say ‘I love you’, the connection had been cut, and his boyfriend was gone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>School on Friday dragged on, Blaine ignoring anyone and everyone that tried to talk to him. His whole body felt numb, senseless, just different shades of grey fading himself out. He just didn’t understand why Kurt didn’t want him, when everything he did was to try and make his boyfriend see him. It wasn’t until the end of the day when someone managed to corner him and force him to talk, and of course it was the one person he didn’t want to talk to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian had dragged him into an empty classroom as he was preparing to leave school, yanking him out of that depressive trance and instead shoving him into an art room with easels and paint littered around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anderson, talk. You’ve been walking around like an extra out of The Walking Dead all day and honestly it’s not sexy, it’s like the first time I’ve looked at you and not been turned on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine groaned into his hands at Sebastian’s words, falling against the closed door and letting his head fall back against the wood, trying to ignore the presence of the taller boy standing a few inches away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, ok, I’m still a little turned on, but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sebastian!” Blaine exclaimed, cutting him off quickly and jerking his head up, giving him a tired look which shut him up. Those green eyes softened slightly, and he moved forwards, standing so if he took one more step he’d be between Blaine’s legs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, killer, tell me what’s wrong though?” he asked, all traces of teasing now gone. Blaine allowed himself to look up, trying not to let his eyes linger on the dusting of freckles across his nose, or the flecks of gold in his iris’, but he was only human. He swallowed heavily and closed his eyes, exhaling out of his nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I'm losing him, Sebastian. I’m losing Kurt.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy in front of him sighed, hands flickering by his side as if he wanted to reach out, but he stopped himself. “Are you even happy Blaine? Is any of it worth it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Blaine wanted to fight, wanted to push him away and scream, yell that he was wrong, and he didn’t know anything, but his body remained still, and he didn’t say anything. Because he knew he’d be feeling the exact same way if Sebastian wasn’t here - it wasn’t his fault there were problems in his and Kurt’s relationship, and he was the only one who actually seemed to be able to say anything about it. It would be easy to blame this all on him, but Blaine knew that Sebastian had done nothing, that all of this was inevitable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up, exhaling deeply and tried to make himself stop pretending, living behind a mask as if it was all ok. “Do you think I should still be with him? Honestly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian opened his mouth then shut it immediately, looking off to the side and biting the inside of his cheek. “I’m not sure I’m the best person to talk about this with Blaine, you should probably ask Tina or-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m asking </span>
  <em>
    <span>you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sebastian,” Blaine replied, voice tired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The taller boy sighed and dragged a hand through his hair, making it stick out haphazardly. “I think you should do what makes </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> happy. It’s your life, your senior year. Stop being so selfless all the time and stop sending half of yourself to someone who doesn’t appreciate you, or you’ll end up doing something you regret.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His words hung in the air, both of them knowing what he meant, but not wanting to address it. Sebastian gave him a sad smile and stepped backwards, pausing for a second but then nudging Blaine out the way so he could leave out the door, walking out the classroom without looking back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine broke up with Kurt. For a moment he thought about flying to New York, doing it all in person, but why should he waste hundreds of dollars and hours of his time to just have his heartbroken more solidly, let his relationship break down in front of his eyes rather than behind a screen. Maybe it was cowardly, or maybe it was self-preservation. All he knew was that on Friday evening, during their daily skype call, Blaine ended it. Kurt had been confused, apparently not seeing where it all was coming from, not understanding how distant he had been, instead getting defensive and bringing Sebastian into the argument </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>After half an hour of crying and arguing, Blaine had to stop it, telling Kurt it was over and he wasn’t changing his mind, although his heart broke with every word. He loved him, and the rest of the night he lay in bed sobbing, regretting his decision with every breath, feeling as if a part of him had been ripped out of his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>To make matters worse, he got to school and walked into the glee club to slouch at the back of the room when Artie declared they were going to do Grease as the school musical. Because exactly what he needed when his heart was shredded into a thousand fucking pieces was to have to sing and dance on stage in a musical about teenage love. His face must’ve betrayed his feelings as Sam and Tina both cornered him after rehearsal ended to demand answers, where he broke down again and told them everything, his two friends thankfully being supportive and comforting to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the day dragged on, as he tried to avoid Artie who kept trying to talk to him at every instance to start questioning him about Grease, really not in the mood. He had declared in glee that auditions would be held the next week, the entire choir room buzzing about it, all whispering to one another. Even Sebastian had perked up, eyes brightening a little. Blaine shook his head, trying not to think about Sebastian; he’d been avoiding him all day, for some reason not wanting to talk about the breakup with Kurt, not after he had basically told him to do it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>At lunch he sat with Sam, Brittney, Marley and Jake, trying his best not to look over to the table full of jocks with Sebastian sat in the middle, joining in with their banter and acting just like one of the guys. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe he’s friends with some of those guys, he looks so weird sitting there,” Sam mused, chomping down on an apple and staring intently. “Like, he’s so preppy, and you know, gay.” He flickered his eyes over to Blaine who just waved him off; he knew what his friend meant. Sebastian’s friends on his sports teams were all </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> straight, and not really the type of people he would expect him to be friends with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re the popular crowd, and he’s a popular guy. I mean, I’m pretty sure he joined the Warblers because they were the most important people on campus,” Blaine replied as he absentmindedly picked at his lunch. “They all like him anyway, I’ve sat with them a few times and they don’t even care he’s gay.” He tried not to feel jealous, the way Sebastian had so seamlessly fit into McKinley when he didn’t even want to be there in the first place, becoming popular and cool despite being in glee and gay, when so many of them struggled with it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marley gave them all a smile and looked over at Sebastian fondly. “Well he’s in the New Directions so he can’t be too obsessed with being popular, it was the first club he joined.” Next to her Jake scoffed and flicked some peas over at Sam, trying to score them into his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, although we know why he joined glee club and it probably has something more to do with the people than its social status.” He looked Blaine up and down and raised his eyebrows, “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>person,</span>
  </em>
  <span> not people.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt his face warm up and he ducked his head down, not wanting to get into the Sebastian debate again, feeling like it was all they ever spoke about. Yes, the tall boy flirted with him, but he also flirted with pretty much everyone, and wasn’t exactly going around composing sonnets about him. He didn’t even want to think about feelings right now anyway, not with his breakup still crushing him. Lunch continued, the conversation turning to Grease unsurprisingly, Sam declaring his need to be Kenickie, and Blaine very much staying out of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His day went on, going from class to class numbly, barely taking notes and not focusing, hating how pathetic he was feeling. Kurt was his first love, and he just missed him </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much, every second without him making him feel like he was regretting his decision to end it. His fingers itched to text him, call him, but he wouldn’t be able to find the words to say even if he did. When the final bell rang of the day Blaine tightened the strap on his shoulder and strode down the halls, determined to get out of the school as quickly as he could, but was hindered by an arm swinging round his shoulders and forcing him to slow down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anderson, you’re clearly not in the best of moods today,” Sebastian announced casually next to him, as if he wasn’t currently half wrapped around him, Blaine’s body burning with the contact. “And frankly you’re depressing me, and I know you’re about to go home and watch The Notebook and cry, so we’re going to get coffee instead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine opened his mouth to protest (because he was in fact going to watch Dear John thank you very much) but Sebastian’s voice was confident and firm in the way that he knew meant he wasn’t going to budge. “I’m fine ok, you don’t have to do that. I don’t think I’ll be good company anyway,” he muttered, pulling away from being underneath his arm and immediately missing the warmth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re probably right, but it’s better that you be shitty company to me than one of your New Directions friends who will end up taking it way too personally and end up singing a song about it in the next rehearsal,” Sebastian replied, nudging him with his should lightly as they made their way into the parking lot. “I got a lift in today so you can drive us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine wondered who exactly he got a lift from, but decided it wasn’t important so just wordlessly nodded and got into his car, Sebastian sliding in next to him effortlessly. It was still a little weird, the two of them being so alone together, sometimes it still felt like a really weird hallucination, seeing him in the hallways, in the choir room, talking about Mr Schuester; Blaine would easily believe if someone said this was some Matrix esque simulation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a comfortable silence as they drove, Sebastian turning on the radio and turning it up, humming along to the top 40 song playing and drumming his fingers on the window, seemingly happy to let Blaine drive in silence and waiting for him to initiate conversation. Blaine wasn’t quite sure he could though, remaining completely quiet the entire way to the Lima Bean, hands gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles were white. They pulled up to the cafe and Sebastian hopped out, leaving his bag in the car and hanging around by Blaine’s door to wait for him to get out, still the epitome of cool and casual as he stood there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he had dragged himself out the car they headed in, Sebastian declared he was going to order for them and pushed Blaine over towards a table, demanding he sit down and wait, using the same voice he had used earlier when he had announced this little outing. Blaine was silently happy that he was taking control, as he didn’t really feel capable of thinking for himself at the moment, and he had a sneaking suspicion Sebastian knew that too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was awarded with his coffee not too long after, snorting with amusement when he saw that Sebastian’s cup had the barista’s number scribbled on it, which according to his friend’s reaction was a fairly common occurrence for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got what you used to get last year, I hope that’s alright,” Sebastian said as he slid into the seat opposite him, taking the lid off his own drink to let it cool down, long legs extending underneath the table. Blaine felt his cheeks heat up a little and nodded shyly, the small fact that his order had been remembered warming his heart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that’s perfect, thank you, you didn’t have to get me anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian waved him off and shook his head at him. “We both know one medium drip isn’t going to make much of a dent in my bank balance, Anderson, plus you look like you barely slept, so you need the caffeine fix.”  Admittingly, he had only gotten about 3 hours sleep as he was crying most of the night, so he couldn’t really argue with that. Instead he just hummed and took a long sip, grateful for the warm liquid which heated him from the inside out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this whole situation is cos of Kurt, right?” Sebastian asked, one hand resting on the table dangerously close to his own. “I’ve seen the majority of the glee club fussing around you all day, and you’ve looked about 10 seconds from bursting into tears the whole time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt a little guilty now, knowing that basically everyone apart from Sebastian knew about the breakup. Telling Tina meant the entire glee club knew within the next 5 minutes, but Sebastian wasn’t particularly close with any one of them, so it wasn’t surprising it hadn’t gotten round to him. In the New Directions he only really had Blaine, a fact which he now felt remorseful about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah. I broke up with him last night, actually,” he announced quietly, speaking into his lap. Saying the words out loud only made him hurt more. “I just wasn’t happy and wasn’t committing to myself enough, and I knew it would only get worse, and I could end up doing something stupid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian didn’t look surprised, but his expression was still confusing, and Blaine could tell he was trying to keep his face as neutral as possible, which was kind; he knew that he could easily launch into a 5 minute monologue about how much he hated Kurt and an alphabetised list of insults for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m proud of you; that must have been hard,” he said, which wasn’t what Blaine was expecting, but praise still made him sit up a little taller. “It’s safe to say I don’t have a lot of practice with breakups, but I can gather they suck, but you have a whole support system at McKinley and Dalton, you know,” Sebastian continued, his voice softening at the mention of their old school. Blaine was hit with a wave of longing, his time at Dalton feeling so long ago but something he missed </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much, and from the expression on the other boy’s face, so did he.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reached over the table, so their hands were almost touching, fingers just an inch apart in a gesture of comfort that he hoped wasn’t too much. “How are you doing with all that, being apart from Dalton?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian seemed a little shocked by the question, façade slipping for a moment. “You know I’m here to comfort you, killer, not the other way around.” Blaine raised an eyebrow at him and tilted his head, staring until Sebastian rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. I miss it, I’ll be honest,” he admitted, one hand playing with the rim of his drink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Moving from Paris to here was a little rough, and the guys at Dalton were nice, welcoming, fun to be around. I had actual friends; you know? Even after all the horrible shit that went down with you and regionals, we all stayed close. We both know I’d rather be there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine was proud of Sebastian for speaking so honestly, and the raw nature of his words were different to hear, but he was glad he wasn’t brushed off with a snarky comment or a lewd joke.  The taller boy cleared his throat and sat up, face hardening up a little after it had softened in his admission.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Grease.” Blaine groaned, rolling his head back and kicking Sebastian’s shin under the table who just chuckled. “Come on, killer, it’s all anyone in our stupid little show choir can talk about, what you thinking?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine sighed and scrunched up his nose, not even sure what to say. “Doing a musical about high school and love sounds absolutely horrible right now, Seb, I don’t know if I can.” The nickname slipped in from nowhere, but he found he didn’t hate the way it rolled off his tongue. Sebastian just sighed in front of him and looked annoyed, shuffling a little in his chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s your senior year, at least think about it? If I audition for Danny I want some competition at least,” Sebastian teased, nudging his arm with his cup.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to audition?” Blaine blurted out, for some reason surprised by that; he’d never even considered that the other boy would be interested in that, seeing as it was involving McKinley and spending extra time around McKinley kids. He understood why he was on sports teams, as he was clearly athletic and enjoyed the exercise, and being in the glee club fulfilled his desire to perform, but the musical was a whole extra step.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian nodded and looked at him with a confused face. “Anderson, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> aware that I sing and dance in show choir, right? Therefore being in a musical isn’t too much of a stretch.” Blaine made a very childish mocking expression and flicked his hand, ignoring his laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, Smythe, I know, I’m just a little surprised, ok? Going for Danny as well, impressive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well you know me, attention whore and all that, figure I may as well go for the most stage time if I can, although if you want it, you know you have it in the bag, right?” Sebastian said honestly, without even a trace of jealousy. The whole situation reminded him so much of the previous year, Kurt not wanting him to have Tony, the issues it caused their relationship – and here Sebastian was, perfectly calm about him having the lead. Not that it mattered, Blaine knew there was no way he could do that, not with his heart the way it was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want it… I can’t. Maybe Teen Angel, I could see myself being able to do that, I think,” he sighed, wishing he had more of a drive, but he just </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Sebastian hummed appreciatively and gave him a once over, biting his lip thoughtfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know what, I think that would be perfect for you, Anderson, and I’m not just saying that because I want the main role,” he teased, winking quickly. “It’s just one song, and with it I know you could steal the whole show – I mean any asshole can throw on a leather jacket and slick their hair into a coif, but it takes a certain type of talent to be a Teen Angel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt himself preen at the compliment, a little confidence seeping into him that hadn’t been there all day. He realised that being near Sebastian made him more self-assured than he had been in a while, the majority of their conversations making him feel genuinely good about himself. Sitting there in the Lima Bean with him, some of the weight of grief lifted off his shoulders a bit, nearly forgetting about his heartache for that hour or so they sat there, continuing to casually chat about school and the musical, Kurt crossing his mind less and less.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading!! killer-leo on tumblr, updates should be fairly regular</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. grease is the word</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>By the time auditions rolled around the next week, Blaine was feeling a little more secure in his choice to actually do the musical, even if Teen Angel was all that he was up for. Sebastian had assured him multiple times that if he wanted to go for Danny that he should, but Blaine knew it wasn’t right for him. The only issue was the fact that Finn was now apparently co directing the musical, and both Mercedes and Mike were back to help. Whilst it was usually great to see some of his graduated friends, the situation with Kurt made things a little trickier, as well as the fact that they all apparently </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sebastian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>At this point most of the current New Directions didn’t mind him, as he was proving very useful with choreography and although he could be snappy and a little rude, he wasn’t being quite as obnoxious as he had been. Even Tina spoke to him sometimes, and one time she gave him a compliment, to which Sebastian had blanched. However the love was definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> shared by the alumni, who hadn’t been around the last month or so and therefore only had the opinion of him as the preppy asshole who had blinded Blaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whilst Sebastian really didn’t care about what other people thought of him, it caused an issue when it came to Grease, as the directorial team clearly did not want him in the musical, even before auditions happened. No one said it exactly, but tension in the choir room was so thick even Brittney knew something was up when Finn announced auditions would start that afternoon, so he was off to try and find a Danny. Sebastian had just slouched and rolled his eyes, not fighting back but Blaine knew that he wanted to, an insult on the tip of his tongue.  They’d been dismissed and he ran off after Mike, knowing that he was probably the safest bet; the two of them had always got on well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mike, hey!” Blaine called out, jogging to catch up with him and falling into step beside his friend. “Why is Finn trying to go out to find someone to audition for Danny? Sebastian’s going for it, and actually I think Jake might be as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike turned and gave him a gentle smile, stopping in the hallway so they could properly chat. “Blaine, I don’t think Finn really wants Sebastian involved, not with his history. I know you guys have sort of gotten to know him, but the musical will be a lot of intense work, and Hudson really wants to do a good job.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sounded sympathetic, and Blaine knew if Mike was in charge this wouldn’t be an issue, but he was just a choreography consultant, not in the directorial chair. “Just talk to him if you can, speak to anyone in the glee club – Sebastian’s a good guy and he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> talented, plus he’s a senior so that should nudge him above some of the other guys trying out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mike clasped his shoulder and nodded, expression soft. “I’ll keep it in mind, Blaine. Remember that Artie holds a lot of the creative control ok, and I doubt any decision will be made without him signing off on it, and he does seem to like Sebastian. Just make sure he does a good audition and that’s all we can hope for.” He gave a final smile then walked away, Blaine feeling at least a little happier than he had when they started the conversation, confident he did what he could, at least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone walked up behind him, and he turned to see Sebastian staring down with a curious expression on his face. “I heard my name, what was all that about?” Blaine shuffled his feet and knew he looked a little guilty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just wanted to let him know how good you’d be in the role, and to not let Finn dismiss you just because he doesn’t know you,” he admitted, looking at him and wincing a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian frowned at him; hands shoved in his pockets as usual. “You don’t need to fight my battles for me, Anderson, I can take care of myself, you know.” Blaine internally yelled at him for being a dick, unsure why the idiot could never take help from anyone, complaining any time he tried to defend or speak up for him, but that seemed like a deeper issue he wasn’t sure he was qualified to deal with.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you can, it’s why I didn’t go to Finn, just Mike; it’s different. I just want this all to be fair, and I know you deserve it ok, so don’t try and argue with me.” Blaine made his voice a little firmer and looked at him in a way that said he didn’t want to fight about it, luckily seeing Sam approaching them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey dudes, you heading over to the auditorium? I saw Marley and Unique on the way over; I think they’re doing a joint audition to kick things off.” Sam announced as he came up to them, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. Sebastian looked less than happy at the contact but grudgingly let himself be pulled along by the blond. Blaine’s heart warmed at the three of them all together; Sam had quickly become his best friend in the last few weeks, and his acceptance of Sebastian really meant the world to him, even if the ex-Warbler didn’t seem too bothered by it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>They continued chatting as they made their way to the auditorium, managing to catch the end of Marley and Unique’s performance; Blaine guessed that something had gone wrong with Jake given the pretty angry nature of the song, but he was pleased to hear they were trying for Sandy and Rizzo, respectively. Although he could admit part of the reason he was pleased Marley was going for Sandy was because she and Sebastian got on weirdly well and had fairly good chemistry, which boded well for them both.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam took to the stage to audition, Blaine and Sebastian sat in the back of the auditorium to watch, both thoroughly entertained by his rendition of Greased Lightning. When Blaine had asked him what song he was going to audition with Sam had just stared at him as if he was crazy, declaring that at Kenickie singing anything else would be blasphemy, and after watching him perform he could see that his best friend had made the right choice, as everyone in the auditorium stood up to loudly cheer after he finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine was never really nervous before he performed, but standing up on that stage, hands on the microphone trembling slightly as the opening bars of Hopelessly Devoted to You started, a mild fear set in. All the emotions about Kurt he had repressed for so long came back, the lyrics helping him to put a lot of feeling into the song but also ripping into him, aware of the vulnerability he was showing as a few tears slipped down his face. He was grateful for the presence of Sam and Sebastian in the audience, feeling as if he didn’t have that support system there he may have just run off crying, unable to stop himself. Instead, he managed to reaffirm that he only wanted the role of Teen Angel, and couldn’t cope with anything more, before returning to his seat in the auditorium and sinking down, breathing deeply to collect himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam draped his arm around his shoulders and dragged him into a one armed hug, more comforting than Blaine could ever articulate, as Sebastian had already headed down for his own audition, which was the last of the day. Sam asked if he was alright, if he needed to go outside for some air, but Blaine knew he wanted to say and watch; he owed his friend that much when Sebastian had already seen both his and Sam’s auditions, as well as the fact his own would be a little tougher due to his audience’s predetermined distrust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian walked onto the stage, as confidently as ever, striding up to the microphone and staring dead on at the panel in front of him, the stage lights illuminating his cheekbones and facial structure so beautifully Blaine felt his mouth dry up a little. He really was unfairly attractive, and Blaine didn’t think he would ever get used to it, no matter who he was dating, or how much of an asshole he was being. Sebastian cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone, voice clear and confident.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Sebastian Smythe, and I’ll be auditioning for the role of Danny Zuko,” he announced, sound reverberating around the auditorium. Finn leaned forwards and spoke into his own microphone, sounding a little less friendly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what will you be singing today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sandy,” Sebastian answered, Blaine unable to stop himself from grinning as that song was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>made</span>
  </em>
  <span> for him – it was perfectly in his register, smooth and sliding, able to showcase his runs and emotion in his voi-</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you sing something that isn’t from Grease?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finn’s voice interrupted Blaine’s internal monologue of Sebastian praise that he had sunk into, speaking harshly into his microphone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the stage Sebastian crunched up his face a little and tilted his head, pausing before responding. “Both Evans and Blaine just sung songs from the musical?” he replied, Blaine detecting a harshness to his tone that let him know the boy was less than happy with Finn’s statement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, but I’d like to see you sing something that isn’t; if you don’t want to then you’re free to leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine could hardly believe what he was hearing; Sam had to put a hand on his chest to stop him from standing up and running over to the panel. It was, frankly, bullshit, and Finn was being completely unfair just because he didn’t happen to like him. Sebastian gritted his teeth and Blaine could see him clenching his fists, but he just sharply nodded and turned to speak to the band, whispering with them for a moment before seemingly coming to an agreement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be singing Fooled Around and Fell in Love by Elvis Bishop, if that’s ok with you,” Sebastian announced, not giving Finn a chance to respond before signalling the band to start. Blaine wasn’t sure what made him choose that song, it was probably just something that he and the band could both perform spontaneously but he found himself not caring, his voice powerfully carrying out through the auditorium. It didn’t require any choreography, but the singing was enough, Blaine hypnotised by his voice, not even Finn would cut this off. When he finished both he and Sam stood up to applaud, Artie enthusiastically clapping loudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you for your time,” Sebastian said into the microphone before walking off the stage, Sam giving one last whoop as he left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The following day certain call-backs were posted, Artie declaring that all roles were cast aside from Danny and Sandy, so the select few had to return for dance and chemistry reads. Blaine pulled Sebastian into a tight hug when he saw his name included on the list, along with Jake, Marley, some kid named Ryder that Finn had apparently plucked off the football field, and Kitty, a cheerleader who was frankly terrifying. He was a bit gutted he couldn’t go to watch them as it was a closed audition, but he made sure to wish Sebastian all the luck he could before he left; if it wasn’t for the whole directorial complications he would be 100% sure that he would get it. Not only was he an incredible singer and dancer, but he was also a senior and the other two were sophomores, so it shouldn’t be a competition, but Sebastian was facing a lot more personal adversity that would stand in his way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tina and Sam dragged him outside for lunch, sitting together on one of the tables by the steps in amongst all the noise of the students gathering around them, miscellaneous cheerleaders and punks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blainey Days, how are you? It’s been over a week Kurt free, you doing alright? If you need an ice cream and Sandra Bullock marathon you know I’m down whenever, right?” Tina asked, lightly stroking his arm affectionately whilst Sam gave him a gentle smile. “Obviously we’re friends with both of you, but you’re our bestie ok so we’re here for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sam nodded, placing one of his cookies over on Blaine’s own pile of food. “Honestly dude, I can like, read you Star Wars fanfiction or something if you need it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine chuckled and smiled warmly at them both, placing a hand on top of Tina’s. “I’m getting better guys, thanks. I miss him, I still love him, but I know it’s for the best, you know? Maybe next year when I’m in New York things can be different, but for now I just can’t.” His voice wavered a little as he spoke, wringing his hands together and swallowing thickly. Talking about it still hurt so much, even if he was getting better, it would take a long time for those cracks to heal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You still in contact with some of your friends from Dalton? Maybe it would be nice speaking to some of them? I know Kurt was there for a bit, but they’re less attached to him, and here everyone kinda knew Kurt first so I get how it could be hard for you,” Sam said a little tentatively, as if he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. Honestly, Blaine hadn’t even thought of that, his Warbler memories so repressed, even if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> some of the happiest times he had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slowly nodded, chewing down thoughtfully on his lip. “That’s a good idea Sam, I may reach out to some. I think that’s one of the reasons I tried so hard to be friends with Sebastian – he’s the one person here who wasn’t Kurt’s friend, who isn’t tied to him in some way, so I don’t have to feel like I’m competing with a memory of a person who isn’t even here.” Saying it out loud made a lot of sense, as to Sebastian he wasn’t Blaine Warbler, Kurt’s (ex)boyfriend, he was just Blaine, and didn’t need to pretend to be anyone else. He loved Sam and Tina, and all the New Directions, but it was different. Maybe that’s why he got on with Marley so well, the lack of association she had with his ex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tina looked at him sympathetically, a hint of worry in her eyes but not the venom she would’ve had at the beginning of the year when he spoke about Sebastian – she definitely didn’t like him too much, but it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> anymore at least. “Ok B, we’re with you. But seriously, if you feel sad even for a second then call me and I will run over with Ben and Jerry’s and ‘Miss Congeniality’ without a moment’s hesitation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cast list was posted the next day, pinned up in the middle of the hallway without warning. Blaine was surprisingly excited to read it – not for himself, because at this point he wouldn’t even be that upset if he didn’t get Teen Angel, but mainly for the other roles his friends were competing for. He and Sam headed over together, his blond friend borderline vibrating with excitement as they briskly walked down the corridor, seemingly there before anyone else. His best friend yelled in excitement, nearly jumping on Blaine’s back when he read it, pumping the air aggressively with his fist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine’s eyes immediately went to the top of the sheet, not caring about his own name, just wanting to find the one that mattered. His heart absolutely soared when next to Danny Zuko was ‘Sebastian Smythe’, the letters printed perfectly and beautifully, like it was meant to be. Marley had been cast as Sandy which he was also pleased by, as he thought she really deserved the role, and her and Sebastian had excellent chemistry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t find his friend until near the end of the day, when he saw him standing by his locker and nearly ran over, having to restrain himself from attacking him with a hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got Danny! Well done, Seb,” he exclaimed, squeezing his arm with pride when he approached him by his locker. Sebastian grinned down at him, a real, true, smile on his face, not a smirk or cheeky look, and Blaine couldn’t help but notice how it made the gold in his eyes stand out just a little more, and his nose wrinkled adorably.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks killer, although after yesterday I can’t say I’m too surprised. Those two other guys spent practically the whole time in a dick measuring competition and tried to be the one to stand near Marley, it was a bit of a shit show.” Blaine wasn’t too surprised by that, having noticed some tensions between Jake and some floppy haired guy in the corridor, but proud of Sebastian, nonetheless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you deserve it, honestly, I’m proud of you,” he beamed, only then realising that he was still clutching onto his arm, bicep rippling slightly beneath his hand, so he dropped it awkwardly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian chuckled and closed his locker shut. “Thanks, B, well done on Teen Angel, even though every person alive knew you were going to get it. Honestly I’m still a little surprised they didn’t just give you Danny anyway and make you do it, I wouldn’t have even been mad,” he teased. At first Blaine got a little defensive as an automatic response, but then he realised that Sebastian wasn’t being bitter or sarcastic, he was genuinely comfortable with himself and his role, and was just complimenting Blaine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck off, you’re perfect for it,” he just replied, nudging him with his shoulder as they started off down the corridor. “You’ll regret even auditioning for it though once you start to get directed by Artie, at least he doesn’t have to tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> to lose your virginity.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Grease properly got under way, Blaine found it easier day by day to start to heal from the breakup. It was hard, especially being at McKinley where everything reminded him of Kurt, as well as the musical hitting a little too close to home sometimes, but it did help distract him and keep him busy throughout. Seeing as the entire glee club ended up being a part of the production, their sectionals rehearsals kind of took a pause, replacing their show choir time with the musical so that it could be put on sooner. Sebastian initially grumbled a lot at that, convinced that they weren’t spending enough time preparing for the competition, but once Artie officially started cracking the whip he stopped complaining, realising that their director was a maniac and there really wasn’t time for anything extra.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine found himself in a lot of background scenes, dancing and singing in some of the group numbers which was fun, as he still got to be a part of rehearsals with everyone and had something to occupy his mind with. Mainly, he was pleased at how good doing Grease was for Sebastian. He had amicable ‘friendships’ with the New Directions beforehand but had never really attempted to take them anything further, however spending pretty much every day in rehearsals together meant that despite whatever he may have wanted, Sebastian actually ended up being </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He helped Mike with nearly all the choreography, both coming up with and teaching it, and he showed this weirdly goofy side that no one knew existed as the delirium of day long rehearsals set in. If Blaine went and grabbed lunch or coffee with some of the New Directions, Sebastian would now willingly tag along, and no one even complained. For the first time, he actually felt like he fit in at McKinley, and wasn’t some glitch in the system. He and Marley formed a fairly sweet friendship also, even if they were completely different people, Sebastian was rather protective over her and they had excellent chemistry on stage. Amusingly, Ryder (who was cast as a T-Bird) who hadn’t been part of the glee club had somehow thought Sebastian was straight and got all weirdly jealous of him, to Sebastian’s delight and disgust. He quickly rectified Ryder’s misconception by explaining to him in very graphic detail previous sexual encounters of his, causing the younger boy to just run away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow opening night came around, after a few days of the entire musical being an entire shit show; Unique dropping out, Marley’s costume weirdly self-sabotaging, Santana being brought back to play Rizzo after Tina spent hours rehearsing to fill in. Blaine’s nerves were so tight he thought he was going to snap, and whilst he was enjoying getting on the stage to perform, he was also looking forward to when this whole thing would be over, and some resemblance of normality would resume. Normal for McKinley, at least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d spent the last few hours with Sam and Tina, trying to relax a little before the show rather than obsessively rehearse like some of the other cast members – he’d invited Sebastian to hang out with them, but he and Santana had gone off together to do god knows what, he really didn’t want to think about it. Tina had calmly told him that Rachel called her and said that she and Kurt were coming to the show, to which Blaine promptly blocked out anything else she said, ears ringing and eyes white, glad he was already sitting down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The thought of his ex-boyfriend seeing Sebastian on the stage made him weirdly uncomfortable, as he knew how mad Kurt would get, and how difficult singing Beauty School Dropout would be knowing he was in the audience. Tina and Sam had just embraced him, telling him they were there to support him and be a shoulder to cry on if he needed to, which was all he could really ask for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Backstage was fucking chaos. It was a sea of costumes and hairspray, people running around manically and weird vocal warmups ringing out way too loudly considering the audience was starting to come in. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ryder and Marley talking, him looking as if he was being somewhat helpful at least, Sam and Brittney warming up together whilst Santana shot daggers at the two of them. He really hoped his best friend knew what he was doing there, as getting on the wrong side of Santana Lopez seemed like a god awful idea. He managed to find Sebastian, the person he was looking for, at last, smiling when he saw that leather jacket and white t-shirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know that coif really isn’t as bad as it should be on you,” he teased, reaching up to prod the overly gelled and style hair on Sebastian’s head, who swatted his hand away with a chuckle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything looks good on me, Anderson, don’t look so surprised. Anyway, at least I’m not wearing a sparkly white jumper, are you sure you don’t want to be Zuko? Not too late to swap, I reckon,” Sebastian replied, smoothing out Blaine’s jumper with a light touch, hand trailing over his chest gently. His breath hitched a little at the contact, more intimate than they’d ever really had, even though it was completely innocent. Sebastian’s fingers lingered on his sternum for a moment before they dropped quickly, his eyes focused behind Blaine’s head with an unreadable expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine furrowed his brow a little, confused at the sudden change in his face when he heard Finn behind him, and his stomach dropped slightly. He looked up at Sebastian, silently asking for confirmation that it was who he thought it was behind him, but the clenched jaw told him all he needed to know. Taking a deep breath and blinking a few times, Blaine turned on his heel, his whole body going numb when he saw Kurt’s face, standing next to Rachel in complete silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked to stand next to Finn, the four of them standing in a weird stand-off that probably looked as uncomfortable as it felt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kurt, hey,” he breathed out, voice wobbling as he spoke and barely audible. His ex looked good, as did Rachel, the two of them obviously dressed to impress. He could feel Sebastian still standing there, as well as the fact that Kurt’s eyes were flickering between looking at him and behind him, Blaine dreading to think what conclusion he was drawing from what he had seen, although nothing had happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good luck,” Kurt replied stiffly, glancing down at Rachel next to him, who was staring at Finn with slightly watery eyes. “We should go find our seats, but good luck out there,” he finished, and the two of them left before anyone else could say anything. Finn sighed loudly and gave Blaine an absentminded pat on the back before walking off, leaving Blaine alone with eyes threatening tears. He turned and saw Sebastian still standing there, looking like he wanted to say something, but Blaine shook his head and held up a hand to cut him off before he could even start, and left to go prepare to go on stage, be alone if he could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The show was going undeniably well; from backstage, Blaine could feel the audience responding to what they were doing, could hear the incredible vocals from his castmates. When he could, he peeked through the curtains to look, his eyes automatically finding Sebastian every time, who was an undeniable powerhouse on stage. His charisma, talent, looks – everything, he just embodied the character as well as himself, and Blaine found himself feeling so proud he could burst, as well as more than a little attracted to him. It wasn’t really his fault – Sebastian kept coming off the stage with a light sheen of sweat on his skin and his top was a little tight and not entirely opaque, the whole thing was obscene, and it was difficult to keep his eyes in the right places.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Going on for Beauty School Dropout, Blaine felt more nervous than he ever had for a performance, his white jumper feeling like a straitjacket on him as he stood up on those stairs and turned around to face the audience, feeling as if he was facing an executioner. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sebastian in the wings, staring up at him with a proud expression, and something else he couldn’t quite place, which instilled him with the ounce of confidence he needed to get the first note out. It mainly went off without a hitch; Sugar may be the world’s worst singer, but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>embodied</span>
  </em>
  <span> Frenchie, which really made his job easier. He faltered slightly when he saw Kurt in the audience, his voice catching in his throat and body feeling numb, but a slight touch from Sugar made him jerk back to reality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Overall, he could count opening night as a success, judging from the atmosphere of the cast and crew as well as the roaring applause from the audience. Taking his bow on stage reminded him why he performed, and why he loved doing what he did, getting rid of any doubts about his song or role in the show, sharing eager smiles with his friends under the burning lights, Once off stage he found himself wrapped up in hugs from everyone, Sugar planting a fat kiss on his cheek and Jake lifting him up over his shoulder for a bit. He saw Sebastian and Marley hugging tightly by themselves, Sam going over to wrap his arms around the both of them which made his heart flutter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He allowed himself to hang with the cast backstage for a little bit before making his way into the corridors, letting the cooler air hit him and relax him a little, a welcome break from the slightly overbearing heat of the dressing rooms. Ahead, he saw a figure standing by himself looking down at his phone, and he recognised it as Kurt instantly, the hair giving him away. Blaine realised this was the first time they had been alone since before Kurt had left for New York, his stomach sinking. Before he could even think about it he started down the hallway, making his way towards him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt looked up at the sound of his footsteps, looking torn between walking away and staying, his slight shock meaning he had no choice but to stay put.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, Kurt, please can we talk,” Blaine started, hating how whiny he sounded but he felt if he didn’t speak now he would never find the time. “I don’t want to leave it like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt stared at him, lips pursed and face set like stone, his body language showing how much he really didn’t want to talk. “It’s over Blaine, you made that perfectly clear. You also made it clear that you didn’t care about Sebastian, but I can see that was obviously a lie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine blinked, flinching at the sound of the ex-Warbler’s name. “Sebastian? Wh - what does he have to do with any of this? He wasn’t why we broke up Kurt, I-I was lonely, and felt like you didn’t care about me,” He could feel his eyes begin to well up, tears threatening to spill, and he hated how weak he felt, how pathetic he must look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, sure. And it had nothing to do with the fact that only a few weeks after </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> shows up suddenly you want to be single, and then I come backstage and see his hands on your chest? Come on, Blaine, I’m not stupid,” Kurt spat back, the hurt evident in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine’s eyes widened and he felt the situation slipping from him, mentally grasping at straws to make him stay. “I promise, it was nothing like that, there’s nothing going on… We can talk about this Kurt, stay friends. Maybe next year in New York we can try again? It’ll be better when we’re together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kurt just shook his head at him, straightening his back and turning to leave, not saying goodbye as he walked away from him, out of his life. Blaine felt his hope dash through his fingers, wanting to run after him, scream, cry, do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything. </span>
  </em>
  <span>His adrenaline and happiness from finishing the show was gone, instead just feeling alone. Footsteps behind him echoed in the empty hallway, the sound getting closer to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Were you being serious?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian’s voice was surprisingly harsh, Blaine whipping around as soon as he heard it. “What?” he replied, blinking away some of his tears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian took a few steps closer, jaw set and his body oddly stiff. “Were you being serious about getting back together when you’re in New York… You had to have been kidding.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine shuffled his feet a little, avoiding the intense stare from the other boy. “It was always a possibility, I mean the reason it wasn’t working was because we were so far apart, and we wouldn’t have that issue if we’re in the same city.” Sebastian kept staring at him, mouth slightly open as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Blaine felt himself start to get defensive, not looking for judgement or abuse right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, the reason it wasn’t working was because you two are not right together. He wasn’t giving you what you needed, and it doesn’t matter what fucking city you’re in that’s not going to change? You’re delusional if you think otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His anger started to rise, blood boiling a little more with every word that came out of Sebastian’s mouth, part of him knowing that he was right, which was the worst part. “Don’t pretend like you know me or my relationship Sebastian, you’ve never had a boyfriend and you don’t know how this works. Don’t take your frustrations of being in a shitty school you don’t want to be in out on me, don’t deflect your own life problems to make me feel worse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian scoffed and threw a hand in the air in frustration, taking another step closer. “I don’t need to have been in a relationship to see how much of a shit show yours was. I can’t stand by and watch you throw your life away for some twink you didn’t seem to really care too much about you when you were dating let alone now. Go out, get drunk, hook up with someone, live your own goddamn life Blaine, don’t live by wasting your time on someone who doesn’t even want you.” His voice rose as he spoke, til he was nearly shouting in Blaine’s face, the sound amplified by the emptiness of the corridor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A silence lingered between the two of them after he finished, just the sound of heavy breathing remaining, neither one of them moving. For a second, Sebastian’s eyes flickered down to his lips, and then he turned to leave, striding off down the corridor the opposite way that Kurt had left, leaving Blaine alone again.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading! i'll update this when seblaine week 2020 is over, as there's still 4 more days to go on that and otherwise it'll be a little much, but thank you for reading! im killer-leo on tumblr :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. superhero's and slushie's</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>featuring the return of the warblers (as it should've gone), some karma, and mr puss being a certified war criminal</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The rest of their Grease run went smoothly, as far as the audience was concerned. They had raving reviews, so complimentary that Artie nearly cried when he read them, the reception to their production better than anything they could’ve hoped. And the majority of the cast thrived as well, close friendships and comradery forming, with even Kitty and Ryder joining glee club after it had finished.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Everything was just slightly bittersweet for Blaine though, as since opening night there had been a disconnect between him and Sebastian, their fight creating an underlying tension that was impossible to ignore. He knew that Sebastian didn’t like Kurt, but he just couldn’t understand where it came from, why he had exploded like that and why he </span>
  <em>
    <span>cared</span>
  </em>
  <span> so goddamn much? Blaine struggled to understand the other boy at the best of times, but it just didn’t make sense to him, and the walls that Sebastian put back up afterwards stopped him from being able to.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They were back to regular glee rehearsals now, and there was a definite shift in dynamics once the musical was over. Blaine could see the way a lot of the tensions and apprehensions the members had against Sebastian had disappeared slightly, and he now actively participated and spoke up, not just saying offhanded criticisms but sometimes genuinely helpful comments. He felt as if he now got a taste of what he must have been like as Warbler captain; with Mr Schue gone Finn was in charge, but Sebastian was slowly getting more and more control. And no one seemed to mind.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>jealous</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He wasn’t annoyed that he was the only person to originally even want Sebastian in the fucking club and now everyone loved him, but he wouldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>speak</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Blaine. The fact that Sebastian sometimes led the rehearsals and gave them choreography and song suggestions that everyone agreed with and he even sung a song with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sam</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t make him unreasonably angry. It didn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They hadn’t spoken in a while, and Blaine felt like a large part of his life was missing, as he had somewhat felt that he had been someone Sebastian needed at McKinley, but now he seemed like he didn’t need him, that he was doing alright. He even started wearing his letterman jacket sometimes, sitting with the jocks and laughing with them, walking down the corridors with that stupid red layer on that wasn’t the right shade for his skin tone, and was a poor imitation of what the Dalton blazer meant. He flirted brazenly with boys in the corridor, never getting slushied or teased, even getting phone numbers and shy blushes out of it. Blaine didn’t know why it hurt the way it did, or why he was being ignored. All he knew was that it hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He still had the Secret Society of Superheroes though. Which was comforting, and he didn’t care how sad it was – dressing up with his friends and docking alter ego’s was a contentment that he didn’t even realise he wanted. Kurt had never really been into that stuff, any sci-fi or comic books, so he had kind of suppressed that side of himself in their relationship, but Sam managed to drag it out of him and let him embrace it. And he had succeeded, as he was currently standing in McKinley wearing his </span>
  <em>
    <span>excellently</span>
  </em>
  <span> made Nightbird costume, putting away the chairs after their meeting.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The others had to get to class when he had a free period so he was taking his time, rearranging the room as best as he could without standing on his cape, which although was essential for his character and dramatic flair, was not the most practical. He was beginning to think Edna Mode had the right idea.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Anderson, it’s honestly like you actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> me to make fun of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian’s voice surprised him, drawling from by the door where he leaned, still wearing that obnoxious letterman jacket. It was a weird fit on him; Blaine was so used to seeing it on big burly guys that looked about 35 that on Sebastian’s lean body it was so different, but he somehow managed to pull it off, even though he shouldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry for having fun, you know your ‘costume’ is just as ridiculous,” Blaine replied, gesturing vaguely at the jacket with his hand and rolling his eyes, not in the mood for the other boy’s attitude today.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian just shrugged and toyed with its’ striped hem; expression casual. “I don’t know, it’s not that bad when you get used to it, not quite the blazer but it’s something.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine stopped stacking the chairs and looked up at him properly, feeling his jaw clench tightly. “When you were first given it you said you’d never wear it, that it was ugly and tacky, and you didn’t need it. Now you stop talking to me and put on that stupid thing like it’s normal?” Sebastian pushed himself off the doorframe, so he was stood up, shoulders broad and face stony.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And what makes you think this has anything to do with you? Maybe I like being on the sports teams and I like wearing a jacket. The fact that I’m no longer interested in speaking to someone who is so willing to throw his life away doesn’t need to have anything to do with it,” Sebastian spat out. Blaine took each word like a gunshot, unwillingly stepping back. He swallowed heavily and bored his eyes into the green ones in front of him, that were steely and cold, throat closed up and unable to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, to make it better or worse Blaine couldn’t tell, but quickly shut it and walked away, the silence of the classroom deafening.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After another glee rehearsal passed where Sebastian had somehow managed to be the one instructing them, as he completely ignored Blaine and pretended as if he wasn’t there, he felt his resolve beginning to wear down. Sitting in the choir room with his voice going unheard and his ‘friend’ in charge, he was reminded of Sam’s suggestion from a few weeks prior.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine sat outside in the courtyard and stared at his phone, fingers drifting over various different contact names. Sam’s gentle nudge to maybe reconnect with some of his Warbler friends was a comforting and kind gesture, as well as genuinely enticing. Moving to McKinley he had been so full of guilt that the friendships had faded when he didn’t want them to, and after everything with Michael Jackson, both parties felt too awkward. But they had been his best friends, his brothers, and he missed them, he missed the way he was when he was with them. And now with Sebastian encroaching on his life, they would probably have a lot in common to talk about, and he needed a bit of a bitch session.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He thought for a second before pressing on Nick’s contact, probably the person he kept in contact with most since his transfer. They had been roommates and good friends, he kind of reminded Blaine of Sam in a way, which was probably why it had been so easy for him and the blond to become friends.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Blaine Anderson</b>
</p><p>
  <span>do you wanna hang out sometime?</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He fired off the text quickly, before proceeding to immediately panic that he should’ve probably given more details, said hello, apologised for being a shit friend, added some kind of padding to his fairly blunt message. Luckily his phone buzzed quickly, the reply almost instant.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Nick Duval</b>
</p><p>
  <span>sure, im free this afternoon?</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Nick Duval</b>
</p><p>
  <span>wanna grab coffee im fucking knackered</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine blinked down at his screen, a smile breaking on his face at the casualness of his reply, forgetting how simple it could be to talk to Nick. Like Sam, not a lot of things bothered him and he just sort of went along with stuff, willing to do or eat whatever with little judgement.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Blaine Anderson</b>
</p><p>
  <span>lima bean at 5? I’ll buy us coffee if you buy us pastries?</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Nick Duval</b>
</p><p>
  <span>you complete me you know that? get my usual order and I’ll just get one of everything im gonna be starving. see you later anderson</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sitting in the Lima Bean with two cups of coffee in front of him, Blaine didn’t know why he felt so nervous. He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>lived</span>
  </em>
  <span> with Nick for a year, the guy knew basically everything about him including all his gross habits, but it had been so long since it had just been the two of them that he couldn’t stop twitching, for some reason wanting to text </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sebastian</span>
  </em>
  <span> and no, he wasn’t allowed to do that.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly there was a person in front of him, arms cradling a rather obscene amount of pastries balanced on each other, a wide grin staring down at him.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, Duval, there’s only two of us,” Blaine chuckled as Nick set down the food on their table, reaching over to lightly punch him on the arm in greeting.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick just kept smiling and grabbed his coffee eagerly, closing his eyes and sighing out dramatically when he held the warm cup in his hands. “And you know I eat for a small army, Anderson, don’t look so surprised.” The immediate gentle teasing of the conversation relieved his anxieties, and he settled more comfortably in his chair and let himself smile, taking a pastry from the small mountain on their table – picking one that his hand wasn’t swatted away from.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Nick started, as he was halfway through a croissant, flakes of pastry landing on his blazer, “I can’t say I’m upset by this little meeting, but I am kinda curious as to why? I am however going to go out on a limb and say that Sebastian may have something to do with it.” His friend gave him a fixed stare that was a mix of amused and concern, shoving the rest of his food in his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine thought for a little bit, feeling a bit guilty but unsure what to say, as he had several reasons for wanting to reconnect. “He’s a part of it I’ll admit, but it’s more than that, Nick,” he sighed, starting to unconsciously fiddle with his hands. “I hate the way we all drifted apart and I miss you guys, I got so consumed by Kurt that I left you guys. I don’t always regret moving to McKinley but I regret not keeping in touch with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick smiled at him softly, cradling his coffee in his hands and not looking that surprised. “Ok, it hurt a little when you left, but none of us hold that against you, Blaine, and whatever has happened in the last year we don’t care, we just want you to be happy.” His words were like a comfort blanket over Blaine, Nick not usually one to be so serious so the meaningfulness of his speech really sunk in.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks man, I hope things can start to go back to normal a bit, if they can,” Blaine replied, as he nibbled on his snack. Nick lightly kicked him under the table playfully in response, grin returning to his face.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, so now talk to me about Smythe because I really want to know what’s going on there.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine groaned and slumped in his seat, ignoring Nick’s snort of laughter. “It’s weird, like it was actually going well, he wasn’t a complete asshole or anything, kind of just shut up for a bit. But then we had one fight and now he’s wearing his letterman jacket and choreographing the glee club and people actually fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>like</span>
  </em>
  <span> him even though he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hates</span>
  </em>
  <span> the school and I just don’t know what to do.” The words kind of rushed out of him as he moved his hands around in frustration, Nick simply looking on and nodding sympathetically.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Makes sense, he kind of creeps up on you. I mean he showed up at Dalton and became captain of the Warblers when like… there was no captain position. I hate to admit that I miss him because I wouldn’t want to give the bastard the satisfaction, but I do, he was a pain in the ass but also our friend,” Nick replied matter of fact, and Blaine felt a little guilty all of a sudden. He missed Dalton and he had </span>
  <em>
    <span>chosen</span>
  </em>
  <span> to leave, so he knew that how Sebastian must feel after being made to leave must be a whole lot worse.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He was kind of vague about why he had to transfer, just saying that his dad made him, and if I ever tried to bring it up again I was shot down pretty quick, do you know anything more?” Blaine asked curiously, leaning forwards on his elbows.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nicked sighed out, taking a long drink from his cup and looked out the window for a bit. “Jeff knows more than me, the two of them are still pretty close I think. I know that after things in junior year his dad was properly pissed, and then he went away to Paris for the summer and when he came back the transfer papers were done.  He doesn’t like to talk about that stuff a lot, but give him time and he’ll come around Blaine, he likes you way too much to pretend to be mad at you for too long.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After that they resumed regular conversation, swapping stories about their respective glee clubs and different Dalton memories, somewhat skirting around the topic of Sebastian. Nick filled him in on their new captain, who was apparently some kind of military bond villain who owned a cat and was a complete lunatic but good at his job. Blaine wasn’t sure he liked the sound of him, but Nick just shrugged and said that he wasn’t as good as Sebastian, but he got results. A few hours had passed without him realising, as he checked his watch and remembered that he had a family dinner to get to, so they wrapped things up.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You know you’re welcome at Dalton anytime, right? Not to transfer back, just to visit. Everyone would be happy to see you,” Nick offered as he stood up, collecting their rubbish in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shrugged on his jacket and moved to pick up their empty cups. “Maybe, I miss it but I’m not sure I could handle going back. But I’ll definitely think about it man.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick nodded and smiled, chucking their rubbish away and falling into his step as they left the Lima Bean and out towards their cars. “Whenever you want to do this again, let me know. It was great to see you Blaine, don’t be a stranger.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He was drawn into a hug, squeezing tightly back as they embraced in the parking lot, before pulling away and saying their goodbyes. As Blaine drove home he thought back to what Nick said about Sebastian and tried his best to empathise with the other boy. He just wished they could have an actual conversation again, and for him to not be at the wrong end of his sharp tongue and critique, but he guessed that would take time as for whatever reason he was still mad at Blaine.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“They left a fucking laptop? I’m pretty sure I suggested that last year you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian was pacing up and down the front of the choir room as the message played over and over, the blurred out face and distorted voice on a loop. Blaine had arrived to see them all staring round it, he and Sebastian immediately exchanging glances as they knew it could only come from one place.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Tina was glaring at it with her arms crossed, as if trying to burn a hole through the screen. “Maybe don’t brag about your previous plans to try and bring us down Smythe I was just starting to like you. And they can’t do this, surely we can call the police or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine just shook his head and went to shut the laptop, the loud crack of the top slamming shut ringing through the room. “No, they want something, I want to know what it is.” He tried not to feel hurt, as he’d only seen Nick a few days before and he hadn’t mentioned anything at all about some kind of sabotage, but he pushed down those feelings – he was the one who reached out initially, so it wasn’t a set up.  “I’ll head to Dalton, get this sorted out. You guys continue with the lesson, ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian furrowed his brow and walked over, stopping only a few inches in front of Blaine with an annoyed face. “You’re not going to Dalton without me Anderson, Jeff told me about this new captain, and he’s supposed to be a piece of work, don’t even think about going alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine clenched his fists and stepped a little closer, until he could almost feel the letterman jacket brushing against him. “And Nick told me he wasn’t completely awful and that I should come by Dalton sometime, so maybe you’re not wanted there,” he spat back, jaw twitching a little.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sam jogged over hurriedly and put a hand on Blaine’s chest to usher him back, looking a little panicked. “Ok, time to calm down guys,” he begged, putting some separation between them. Artie wheeled over slightly and raised his eyebrows, not appearing too impressed.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You both still speak to the Warblers? And do you not think we should have known this information?” Blaine rolled his eyes and brushed off Sam’s hand, feeling his anger disappearing a little as distance was put between him and Sebastian.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We went to school there, some of them are our friends Artie. Besides, I’m not exactly close with a lot of them, just a little contact.” Some of the New Directions looked a little suspicious, but honestly a lot of them treated show choir like life or death so he wasn’t too surprised. He looked over at Sebastian and sighed, running a hand over his hair slightly and calming himself down as much as he could.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Me and Sebastian will head over together, see what’s up and report back. Carry on with the week and we’ll be back tomorrow,” Blaine announced, before turning and walking out of the door, knowing the taller boy would follow him.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>As he made his way down the corridor Sebastian quickly caught up, his long legs having to work a lot less hard than his did. They fell into step side by side, Blaine tensing a little when their shoulders brushed.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know you saw Nick,” Sebastian offered after a moment of silence, sounding a little curious. Blaine just shrugged and tried to keep as neutral as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We met up a few days ago, nothing serious. He definitely didn’t mention anything about this though.” Sebastian hummed, silently agreeing with him. They didn’t speak any more as they walked out to the car park, but at least they weren’t arguing so he took it as a win. Without talking they both headed to Blaine’s car, getting in together for the first time in a while – Blaine had driven them both a few times during Grease rehearsals, but they hadn’t gone out since the fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Driving to Dalton always gave him mixed feelings, which were particularly amplified by Sebastian’s presence in the car. They didn’t talk, but had the radio on, both quietly humming or singing along to whatever was playing, the drive thankfully going quickly due to empty roads. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as it should have been, but it didn’t have the ease that he had grown to like in their friendship either, and Blaine found himself really aching for their old familiarity for the first time, hating how they sat in silence.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They pulled up to the school, both of them in shades of red and navy but just not the right ones, Sebastian’s letterman jacket obnoxiously sticking out even more so than Blaine’s shirt and sweater vest. Silently they both meandered through the halls, starting the descent down the spiral staircase and seeing both Nick and Jeff stood at the bottom, engaged in a casual conversation between them.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Duval, Sterling. You wanna tell us what’s going on or do I need to start bringing up some embarrassing memories for you both that you really wouldn’t like the other to know?” Sebastian announced as they approached, causing the two Warblers to look up at him and grin, although blushing a bit at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Trent owes me 20 bucks, he said that only Blaine would show up, and I said you’d follow him even if he didn’t want you to come,” Jeff replied with a smile, punching Sebastian on the arm as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and being flicked in the ear in return. Blaine turned to look at Nick as he put his hands in his pockets, the four of them starting to walk towards the senior commons automatically.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, what’s going on? The New Directions are pissed, and they have the right to be.  I literally saw you a few days ago man?” Blaine asked, unable to hide the slight twinge of hurt in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Blaine, I didn’t know until today, Hunter kind of did a sting operation under our noses. I wouldn’t panic though it was just bait, he honestly just wants to talk to you,” Nick replied with a smile, ducking at the swat that came from Sebastian who was looking less than impressed.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Right and I’m sure this guy is totally sane. You dicks could’ve given us a heads up you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax Smythe it’s just a bit of a joke,” Nick answered, trying to trip him up as they walked. Blaine chuckled at the casual teasing and playing around, something he missed quite a bit from the Warblers. Although he was annoyed at the whole situation, he knew his friends weren’t the ones orchestrating it, and it was still good to see them. They arrived in front of the doors for the senior commons, Jeff nodding with his head for the two of them to enter.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He and Sebastian exchanged glances, before going to walk in together, pushing open the doors like they had both done so many times before, albeit not together. A chair spun round dramatically, revealing a handsome teenager sat in a Dalton uniform, sharp jaw and short hair, and kind of exactly how Blaine pictured him to be. He also had a white fluffy cat on his lap, which he swore was staring into his eyes as it was being aggressively petted. The whole scene was borderline entertaining if not fucking creepy. Judging from Sebastian’s expression he wholeheartedly agreed, looking both disturbed as well as a second away from bursting out laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew they’d send you,” he announced, tone firm but slightly bored, tufts of white hair falling onto his uniform. Blaine thought that a white cat really wasn’t the best of choices for a pet with a dark uniform but figured he should keep his mouth shut on that. “Allow me answer the obvious questions. I’m Hunter Clarington, I’m the new captain of the Warblers, and I’m not even remotely bi-curious.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian scoffed a little loudly, Blaine swatting him with the back of his hand to shut him up. He turned to glare and saw that Sebastian was literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>checking out</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hunter, completely unashamedly. He was totally fucking ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Dalton just gave me a full scholarship to move here from Colorado Springs, where I led our military show choir to a regionals victory with presidential honours,” Hunter continued, standing up and tossing the cat to the floor rather unceremoniously. He was sure that the cat winked at him as it moved across the floor as if it had been possessed - Nick certainly wasn’t lying about the whole ‘bond villain’ thing he had going on.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, I want to kick it up a notch, and that starts with you,” the captain finished, walking over to the fireplace and placing a hand on his hip. Sebastian stifled a laugh and muttered “not bicurious my ass” under his breath, which was a lot funnier than it should’ve been. Blaine felt naked under Hunter’s stare, but he was happy he’d brought Sebastian along at least, despite their current tension he was helping to alleviate some of the pressure in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“This is all very intimidating and impressive Clarington, thank you for showing us what a tiny dick you have, just tell us where the trophy is,” Sebastian drawled, crossing his arms over his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Hunter turned to look at him, eyebrows up, and took a few careful steps forward. “Funny, I wasn’t actually talking to you Smythe. I only care about Blaine here, so you can run along now.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine could feel Sebastian tense up next to him, his body stiffening a little as he approached Hunter carefully. “Well you know what, Blaine isn’t an object and you can’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>collect</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, or </span>
  <em>
    <span>blackmail</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, so why don’t you fuck off and give us back our trophy?” The fierce defence of him came out of nowhere, and Blaine felt himself have to bite his cheek to stop from smiling, Sebastian somewhat stepping in front of his body in a protective way that made his knees a little weak.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Hunter just grinned, baring perfect teeth and chuckling lightly. “Oh cute, so the rumours are true, Smythe has a crush. No, I don’t want you, you’re replaceable, one of the bunch.” He wafted his hand in Sebastian’s general direction, sounding bored and not even looking at him. “Blaine, however, is special, he’s a legend here. So here’s my offer – Sebastian and the other rejects can have their little trophy back, when </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> rejoin the Warblers.” The statement was so outlandish that Blaine couldn’t help the puff of laughter he let out, eyes widening at the ludicrousness. He moved to stand next to Sebastian, arms close together as his way of trying to be comforting.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hunter that’s ridiculous, why would I ever leave McKinley?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would you stay? Kurt’s gone, Sebastian’s there now as their little prep boy mascot, why not come back?” Hunter fired back, fixing him with a firm gaze that made him shiver a little. The doors reopened and some of the Warblers came in, their faces a mix of entertained and slightly nervous, both Nick and Jeff giving him and Sebastian concerned looks.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’m sorry but this is insane. I’m not coming back to Dalton, and you can’t talk to Sebastian that way. We are both staying at McKinley so don’t bother trying anything else Clarington,” Blaine declared, spitting out every word. He grabbed Sebastian’s sleeve and pulled him along, pushing past the Warblers by the door and going into the corridor, legs not stopping as he kept on walking determinedly, half dragging Sebastian along with him.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine had been seething when they left Dalton, ignoring everything Sebastian had tried to say, white noise in his ears. He wasn’t sure why Hunter’s comments about Sebastian made him so mad, but whenever he thought back to them he couldn’t stop his fists balling up. They made it all the way back to McKinley without him exploding, although his hands were clenched on the wheel so tightly he was convinced the skin on his knuckles would split.  Sebastian was also uncharacteristically quiet, just staring out the window the entire drive home, letterman jacket discarded in the back seat of Blaine’s car, as he claimed it was too hot to wear it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Although it was the end of the school day, both of them still had stuff in their lockers to collect so headed back into the building, silently walking through the school. Blaine wasn’t sure what he should say, the whole experience of going to Dalton so different than he thought it would be – both Nick and Jeff had texted him, asking if they were alright, and not so subtly dropping hints about the location of the trophy, but it did little to relieve him of his anger. As they stood by their lockers, Sebastian turned to him, biting down on his lip as if unsure or nervous. A loud gaggle of voices approached them, Blaine’s back to where they were coming from but recognising the sounds of some of the more primitive football players who thought that being a horrible person was a personality trait.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Just as Sebastian looked as if he was about to say something, an explosion of red hit him in the face, splattering Blaine with a few flecks of ice and colour, but the main brunt of it covering Sebastian’s entire face and torso, as he was doused in slushie. He heard the football players burst out laughing and high five each other, Blaine wasn’t sure they even knew or cared who they had just slushied, only that they’d managed to get someone.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian stayed completely frozen, the ice dripping down his face and pooling on the floor, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open. Blaine fought the urge to run after the football players, knowing he’d just get his ass handed to him, and instead brushed off the splatters that had gotten on him. Sebastian finally moved, shaking out his hands and groaning, staring down at his body in complete shock, moving to touch his eyes, which </span>
  <em>
    <span>nope, </span>
  </em>
  <span>that was a bad idea.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch the eyes! Come with me let me help you,” Blaine said, reaching down to grab his hand to direct him towards the nearest bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Mother</span>
  <em>
    <span>fucker</span>
  </em>
  <span> I am going to kill those guys,” Sebastian growled, trying to yank his hand out of Blaine’s grip to follow the football players, but in that moment Blaine was stronger and swatted away his resistance, just entwining their fingers to pull him away.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave it, they’re not worth it – let’s just get you cleaned up ok?” Blaine soothed, spotting the toilet and dragging them both in, firmly positioning Sebastian against the wall and kicking at his legs to get him to sink down a bit. He ran the tap, waiting until it had warmed up a little and then soaked his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Lean down a little more, and don’t make any short jokes or I won’t help you.” Sebastian snorted but complied, leaning against the wall and bending his knees so they were nearly eye level.  Blaine started to slowly clean off the slushie, scooping the ice away and dabbing around his eyes with a damp paper towel, trying to work as gently as he could. He’d only been slushied once at school last year, as people tended to leave him alone, but he had helped out a lot of his friends several times.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>As he swiped along Sebastian’s cheekbone with the towel, he was suddenly struck with the irony of the whole situation, memories of a slushie, a parking lot, and Michael Jackson flooding back. Staring down at Sebastian’s face, Blaine realised that the irony must’ve hit him a lot earlier, his expression completely dejected. They made eye contact, Blaine’s fingers lightly cradling his jaw and holding his head up, his thumb swiping absentmindedly along his chin.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“These things really sting, huh,” Sebastian said, swallowing heavily and eyes looking waterier than Blaine had ever seen them.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sebastian, I – “</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t, Blaine. I’ve regretted what I did to you every day since it happened, and we both know I deserve this, so just don’t. You don’t have to help me out,” he said, slowly closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine set down the paper towel, bringing his hand back to his face so that both of them were cradling Sebastian now, one lingering on his cheekbone, the other on his jaw. “I forgave you months ago, start to forgive yourself. And I’m not helping you out because I pity you or whatever, I’m helping you because I’m your friend, and I care about you. So let me scrape slushie off your face and don’t whine at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The taller boy choked out a laugh, opening up his eyes slightly to stare up at Blaine, leaning into his touch a little. He couldn’t help but gaze at the green iris’ in front of him, flecks of gold littering them, above the dusting of freckles on his nose and cheekbones. Sebastian was handsome, that was obvious to anyone. But up close, holding his face in his hands and supporting his body in front of him, Blaine realised that he was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, even with skin tinged slightly red with dye, and patches of ice buried in his ears.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Without breaking eye contact, he finished cleaning him up as best as he could, heart rate speeding up with every passing moment, skin feeling as if it was on fire. He allowed his eyes to flick down to Sebastian’s lips for a second, which were pink and damp, slightly parted and </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> inviting, and Blaine realised he would barely have to lean in to take them in his own.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly he cleared his throat and stood up, backing away a few steps to put some distance between them, wiping down his hands on his trousers.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s your face all done, uh, not much I can do about your top though unfortunately,” Blaine stuttered, gesturing vaguely at the bright red, damp stain which was soaking through Sebastian’s t-shirt. “Look, I gotta go, but just take a shower when you get home to try and get all the red off you, and you should be as good as new.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he was talking a little too fast, avoiding his eyes, and his face was heating up, but he was also slightly panicking. They had been way too close, nearly kissing, </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> kissing, and Blaine knew that he wanted them to. He swallowed deeply and made towards the door, pulling it open but pausing before he left.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, Hunter was wrong. You are special Sebastian,” Blaine said, turning back to look at the taller boy slouched against the wall and giving him a small smile, before rushing out the bathroom and heading to his car, mind spinning uncontrollably. He had wanted to kiss Sebastian, and he still did.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading!! im killer-leo on tumblr</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. french and feelings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>the french song i imagined sebastian doing is Mondial by TAL, had the right kinda vibe for sectionals i thought :) and i was simply not going to do gangnam style so</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After the slushie incident, Sebastian had stopped giving him the cold shoulder, the two of them starting to go back to where they were. Kind of.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine was now consumed with the fact that he might have an actual crush on him, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>feelings</span>
  </em>
  <span>, rather than just finding him attractive. It made him kind of wish Sebastian was still ignoring him as it would’ve made the whole situation a lot easier, but he just had to suck it up and deal with it. Crushes were temporary, and often inevitable on your hot friends, so he just had to wait for it all to blow over.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Him and Sam had stolen back their nationals trophy, Sebastian had cut the sleeves off the letterman jacket of one of the people who had slushied him, and the glee club were focused on huddling down for sectionals which were quickly approaching – things were starting to get better.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Mr Schuester was still gone, and Finn still in charge of the New Directions, but they were actually cracking down on rehearsing ahead of time for once, which was arguably due to Sebastian. Their trip to Dalton had lit a fire under his ass and became even more driven than he already had been, Hunter’s words clearly getting to him more than he wanted to let on. Blaine found himself happy with Sebastian’s control however, even if he could be a little harsh he was talented and sure of himself, and they were definitely improving under his guidance – even Finn put up little resistance under his decisions.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The one time there had been a slight issue was when their setlist was addressed, and Finn had declared that they were doing none other than Gangnam Style. Blaine thought he was maybe going to be a little sick in his mouth. Before he could even gently try and dissuade their instructor from making them do that as it would be entirely inappropriate, borderline offensive, and also impossible, Sebastian very quickly beat him to it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hudson, no. We are not doing that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Finn looked up at him and tried to give his most assertive look. “Sorry Sebastian but I’m in charge here, and our best bet of beating the Warblers is to beat them at their own game, and so we need to have a big dance number.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian rolled his eyes at him, the whole room staring between the two of them as they tensed at one another. “The Warblers ‘game’ isn’t dance, it’s tight knight synchronicity, worked on over months of repetition built off their acapella. Trust me, this isn’t the way to go. Yes we obviously need to work on our dancing because </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jesus</span>
  </em>
  <span> we suck, but in a few weeks we are just simply not going to get anything to their standard if we try and copy them.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine felt himself nodding – Sebastian was clearly right, the Warblers did what they did very well, and it was a little hopeless trying to beat them at their own game. Finn looked like he wanted to argue but Sebastian just put up his hand and continued on.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The New Directions win because people tend to like you guys, you do fun group numbers, powerful ballads, and engage the audience. Highlight your best players doing what they do best – not everyone is a good dancer, but some people are very fucking good. Shove Jake and Brittney in the front and you’ll be fine. Let your singers sing – and for fucks sake give Blaine the solo – and do what’s best for </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> rather than try and become the Warblers, because otherwise we will lose. Trust me, I was their captain, remember.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The room fell pretty silent, the weight of Sebastian’s words hitting them, slow nods echoing around the room. Blaine looked at him in awe, a little turned on, but mostly proud of him, and he realised that Sebastian said “us”, and “we”, rather than his usual “you”, or “them.” Finn stared blankly, jaw clenched as if he really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span>, wanted to disagree, but every person sitting in the choir room knew that it would be a little pointless, so he just relaxed his shoulders and sighed out.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, I really don’t want to admit it but I guess you make a good point, and the room seems to agree with you. One thing I learnt from my time here is that we all need to be on the same page if we’re going to succeed with this thing. We need to remember though that the theme is ‘foreign’, so at least one number needs to not be American – most groups will go with something British so it would be cool if we could do something a little different.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Marley leant forwards in her and stuck her hand up. “Does anyone speak another language? So they could maybe take the lead on a song.” Blaine reached over to comfortingly pet Tina’s arm when the majority of the room awkwardly turned to look at her and she flipped them all off.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I do NOT speak Korean so do not even think about asking me,” she hissed, glaring at everyone who had moved their heads. Sebastian chuckled and stuck his arm in the air lazily, drawing people’s attention.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fluent in French, if that helps.” Oh god Blaine really didn’t need to know that. His dumb little crush on Sebastian would not be helped if the boy started speaking the fucking language of love, he didn’t need this. Unfortunately, as it turned out he was the only person in the room who was even remotely bilingual, everyone else staying silent and scratching their heads.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Finn nodded and clapped his hands together at the front of the room. “Alright, so if Sebastian takes the lead on one of the songs in French, Blaine gets a solo as the ‘New Rachel’, and then why don’t we feature some of the girls for our third song? Everyone have a think, and when we meet tomorrow we’ll finalise our setlist properly.” They all started to scatter, and Blaine ran over to Sebastian before he could leave.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I didn’t know you spoke French?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian slung his backpack over his shoulder and shrugged slightly. “I told you I lived in Paris before I came here didn’t I? Well believe it or not Paris is in France, where they speak French,” he teased, fake gasping and clutching at his chest, Blaine poking him in the side.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Right yes I know you lived in Paris, but I figured you went to some international school and just got away with speaking English with a few French terms,” he admitted, feeling a little obtuse now. “I guess I never really put two and two together.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They headed out the choir room into the hallway, walking side by side. “Yeah well my mum still lives in Paris, and has done for over 10 years, I started learning when I was fairly young,” Sebastian said lightly, even though he rarely ever spoke about his family. “I’ll pick a song for myself; I know French music better than anyone else in glee, and you think of something for your solo. I’m expecting good things, killer.” He turned to look at him and winked, sending a shiver down Blaine’s spine, as the taller boy headed off to his next class and Blaine remained frozen in the corridor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It turned out that Finn apparently thought very little of the current New Directions, as he brought back the alumni at every given opportunity, sectionals preparation being no exception. Yes, they were Blaine’s friends, and he was fairly close with a lot of people in the room, but they all just reminded him of Kurt and his junior year which he was so desperately trying to move on from. The alumni were all standing in the choir room, up at the front and acting as if they weren’t just a few months older than some of them, when Blaine knew what they really needed to do was just crack on with sectionals.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Finn had asked Sebastian and Blaine what songs they wanted to do, some of the alumni giving Sebastian dirty looks as he made his way to the front. He could see Puck whispering to Quinn, clearly not brought up to the same speed as the rest of them in terms of the whole ‘Sebastian-is-kind-of-nice-now’ situation, Blaine glaring over at him to try and shut him up as he stood next to Finn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking of Dark Side, by Kelly Clarkson for my solo, it’ll be easy to layer certain parts and create good harmonies, as well as giving good choreography opportunities I think, me, Jake and Sebastian have already thought of a few ideas,” Blaine announced, looking to the rest of the glee club for approval who all seemed fairly happy with the idea.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Next to him Sebastian leant back against the piano and offered him a small smile before he spoke up. “I figured that the French number should be a group piece, and Finn mentioned he wanted a dance emphasis so I found a song that’s very upbeat and energetic, and has backing parts that anyone can sing, without knowing French.” Finn looked pretty surprised at Sebastian’s comment, giving him a grin when he mentioned how he was trying to be accommodating, something he probably wouldn’t have done at the start of the year. He then asked if Marley and Kitty would want to take the lead on their other song with their rendition of ‘Holding out for a Hero’ from the duets week, which the entire club rapidly agreed with. Even Tina looked happy with the choice, especially when Marley said they should turn it into a ‘girls’ feature and give them all solo lines.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Finn then proceeded to pair up the ‘new’ members of glee with the alumni; Puck with his brother, Mike with Ryder, Santana with Marley, Quinn with Kitty and Mercedes with Unique. He looked at Sebastian and paused, eyes looking back up at the alumni and realising that he hadn’t necessarily thought it all the way through.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian just rolled his eyes and waved him off, unbothered. “Hudson I am 18 years old, a senior, and I was the captain of the Warblers. I do not need an ex McKinley student as a mentor, I genuinely think it’ll make me worse.” He ignored the noises of protest that came from the alumni much to Blaine’s amusement. “Anyway, I need to start choreographing these numbers which is a little more important. If I want some misguided wisdom I’ll hang out with Lopez and Marley as they’re the most tolerable.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine still found Sebastian and Marley’s friendship both confusing and adorable, the two of them often having lunch together or texting, for some reason the taller boy really taking her under his wing. And he and Santana had always gotten on as well, although that friendship made a lot more sense and was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> more scary.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Finn just awkwardly nodded and mouthed “I’m sorry” at Sebastian, then dismissed them to their partners or to start running through vocal parts and choreography. Blaine was actually feeling pretty confident about their set list, knowing they were displaying their full range of talents with a good amount of variety, and also super fucking relieved they weren’t doing Gangnam style. The Warblers were going to be a big threat, they always were but under Hunter’s fascist state they were probably going to be better than ever – he and Nick still texted, and he relayed stories about rehearsals that were haunting. However, imaging the Warblers without Sebastian there at the front, he couldn’t help but feel that they would be missing something, something that the New Directions now had with them.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Intense dance and vocal rehearsals started from the next day, Sebastian covering most of the choreography with help from Mike, and Blaine pitching in with a lot of the alumni for the vocal arrangements. Everyone seemed to be in a good headspace, all ambitious to win and focused on the competition, an improvement from the semi lazy state they usually occupied. Even Ryder and Jake seemed to have worked out whatever weird thing they had going on, the two of them talking and joking around with seemingly no threat of violence anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the second day, Sebastian had pulled Blaine aside and told him that he and Santana had found Marley with laxatives and different diet pills, his face strife with worry. In that moment Sebastian’s eyes were soft and face concerned, explaining how they had taken her aside and talked to her about it, flushing all her tablets and having a conversation. Sebastian assured Blaine that he was going to check up on her every day, try and get her on a healthier track, talk to her mother if he had to, and that Santana was going to talk to Kitty as they were suspicious she had something to do with it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine promised him he wouldn’t say anything but felt such an overwhelming surge of emotion at his actions, unaware that Sebastian could be so empathetic and protective. Sure, he found himself attracted to his snark and dry commentary, but this softer, more vulnerable side opened him up so much further that Blaine found himself falling more than he should. When Sebastian had finished talking he dragged him in for a hug, inhaling his musky, expensive scent and squeezing him tightly, before letting go and rushing off to his next class, feeling kind of ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever Sebastian and Santana did seemed to work however, Marley getting more energy and colour over the next few days, Blaine making extra effort to talk to her and encourage her, and some of her nerves seemed to get less intense as well under Santana’s tutelage. Sebastian’s choreography was the perfect level of difficulty; complex stuff for those of them who could do it, and simple but effective moves for those who were a little more challenged in the movement department. He only made Tina cry once, and Blaine could’ve kissed him every day.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>By the time sectionals arrived, they were fully rehearsed, synchronised, and unified as a team, the days leading up to it more full of excitement than nerves. On the day of the competition, he and Sebastian were sitting out in the courtyard alone together, arriving back at the school before anyone else and taking the time to relax before having to get changed or prepare. They’d arrived separately, both seemingly having the same idea, but sat outside together willingly, breathing in the early evening air and enjoying the calm before the storm.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t by any chance have my letterman jacket, do you killer?” Sebastian asked, leaning against the concrete steps so that his elbows were rested on the tier above his ass and his legs dangled down, long body stretched out so distractingly that Blaine felt his mouth dry up. He didn’t even take in what Sebastian had said until he nudged him and repeated it, causing a ridiculous blush on his face as yes he did very much so have Sebastian’s letterman jacket.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was a complete accident – after getting back from Dalton it had been left in his car, Sebastian discarding it in his back seat and then the slushie incident happened, and Blaine had left pretty suddenly. It wasn’t until the next day that he even realised it was still there, and then he never actually got round to giving it back.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, y-yeah, I think it’s still in the back seat of my car,” he stuttered out, staring down at his feet. It wasn’t as if he had taken it into his house or anything creepy, he left it where it was, but he also had had </span>
  <em>
    <span>many</span>
  </em>
  <span> opportunities to give it back which he hadn’t taken, so it still wasn’t completely ok.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian just hummed and stretched his back out a little, quiet cracking sounds filling the courtyard as he popped his back, exposing a sliver of skin above his hip bone that was just teasing Blaine with how much it wanted to be kissed. “That’s alright, I can grab it after the competition. Have you tried it on? I bet you’d fucking drown in it,” he teased, reaching over to lightly poke into Blaine’s side, chuckling as his hand was swatted away.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine grumbled lightly, fighting off the smile threatening to spread on his face. “Fuck off I’m not that small, I’m a lot more muscular than you are Smythe,” he replied, kicking his leg over to knock into his shin, but leaving his foot so that their limbs were lightly resting against one another.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>At his comment Sebastian leaned over, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh I know you are killer; don’t think I haven’t noticed you tagging along with Evans to the gym.” He dragged his eyes up and down Blaine’s body, in a gesture that probably was intended as a bit goofy, but his gaze lingered a little too long, focusing on his thighs and arms with widened pupils that betrayed the fact that maybe it wasn’t a joke.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine was suddenly aware of how close they’d ended up, legs touching and faces only a few inches apart, a distance that if were with Sam, or Jake, it would’ve been completely platonic. But he wasn’t, he was with Sebastian, so everything was different. Everything was always different with him, always an underlying hunger there, a depth behind every word and every look that just always meant more, and always had. They paused in that moment, cool dusk air casting soft shadows over the both of them, faded hues of orange and lavender in the sky reflecting onto the stone steps, mingling into their skin. Blaine wasn’t sure if they sat like that for 5 seconds or 5 minutes when Sam came outside, calling them over as everyone else was arriving, wanting to start warming up.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted, not sure if anything even would’ve, as they had just enjoyed sitting with each other, somewhat lost in the moment. They had been close enough to kiss, but neither one of them had dared, content with just looking, </span>
  <em>
    <span>being</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian just pulled away and dragged himself up, cracking his back again with hands stretched over his head, groaning obscenely and shaking out his body, reaching down an arm to pull Blaine up with him, the two of them silently smiling and heading into the school, a calm confidence about them.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Getting ready backstage went in a bit of a blur, rehashing some choreo, pulling on their outfits and doing hair and makeup, a wave of noise and chaos and chatter which electrified them. When Blaine was trying to reapply his gel, Sebastian came over to him and removed his hand from his head, stopping him from putting any more on and declaring that if he didn’t let his curls get even the smallest amount of air he would simply shave it off. Even though he complained and pretended to be annoyed, Blaine felt the tiniest bit happy that he liked him more naturally, willingly loosening it up a bit so it was more similar to how he had it sophomore year, not quite brave enough to go any further.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They headed to the auditorium to watch the Warblers who were on before them, Blaine sandwiched between Sam and Sebastian as two firm walls of support, both fixated on the stage with set jaws. Hunter marched on and announced them, in his typical creepy manner, barking at the audience about their set, and Blaine couldn’t help but think that he had the absolute most punchable face he had ever seen.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Their set started, and no one could admit they weren’t good. Sebastian whispered to him that “choosing a song about blowjobs and calling yourself not even remotely bi-curious is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen”, but even he looked annoyingly impressed. It segued into Live While We’re Young, a mix of the guys taking the lead, Blaine proud of his friends getting competition solos, but he could tell that if Sebastian was still on the Warblers that song would be his. The thought of Sebastian being at Dalton and not transferring made him uncomfortable now, realising that the last few months of his life would be shaped so differently, and that he wouldn’t want to do his senior year without him by his side.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He clapped and cheered loudly when the Warblers were done – they were his competition but also his friends, and Sebastian applauded and shouted just as exuberantly as he did by his side, leaning down to whisper in his ear, “once a Warbler always a Warbler.” They all headed off backstage, a few minutes to spare before they went on, warming up vocal chords and jumping around for blood flow. Blaine saw his phone ringing on the side, looking around quickly to see if he had time to answer, then picking up and answering it when they didn’t seem to be in a hurry.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey Blaine, have you gone on yet?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Kurt’s voice cut through the tinny speaker of his phone, the sound making Blaine take a step back, having to take a second before he could respond.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“U-uh, no, we’re about to go on, I’m backstage.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I just wanted to say good luck, the others have been saying how hard you’ve been working for this…I know we didn’t leave it in a good place, but it doesn’t always need to be like this.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-thank you, uh, happy Thanksgiving Kurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You too Blaine. Don’t let any of those Warblers win yeah?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine choked out a laugh, unable to make more than a noise.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe… over Christmas we can talk a bit, about us?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The words hit Blaine like a freight train, a sentence that a few weeks ago would’ve made his heart burst with hope. But, they didn’t now. Of course a part of him still longed for that, longed for Kurt, but in their time apart he had started to find happiness, a comfort in his friends, confidence in himself, and… Sebastian. They weren’t anything, not really, and he doubted they could ever be. Sebastian didn’t do feelings, relationships or monogamy. But he was a promise of something else out there, a world beyond the first boy he fell in love with, and the idea that Blaine could find happiness again. He took a deep breath and collected himself, eyes closing slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We can always talk Kurt, but I don’t think there is an us anymore… I think we both know that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There was a silence down the phone, and someone calling his name in the distance, so Blaine just exhaled out and smiled to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodbye Kurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He hung up the phone and turned around, ready to head towards the stage. Sebastian was standing behind him, a curious expression on his face, and Blaine wondered how much he had heard.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You ok?” the taller boy asked tentatively, looking unbelievably handsome in his competition outfit. Blaine shook his body out a bit and felt himself smile, his stage nerves falling away.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think I am,” he replied confidently, and Sebastian matched his smile and turned to head towards the rest of the New Directions, Blaine following with a spring in his step and a fierce determination in his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was pretty confident that they completely smashed it. From the sounds of the audience they agreed as well, people on their feet, cheers and applause throughout. Up there on the stage, Blaine just felt so alive, the heat from the lights burning into his skin, pouring out every single emotion that he could and letting his body move, twisting and turning as it saw fit. He had opened their set, his conversation with Kurt doing nothing but help their performance, the lyrics of Dark Side somehow speaking to him in ways that he didn’t see before, or maybe he realised just then why he had picked it, the words in his subconscious. It didn’t matter his thought process, he knew he killed it, and when the girls took over for Holding out for a Hero it simply electrified the crowd further, their energy unmatched and voices incredible.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine made sure he kept an eye out on Marley, but Sebastian had assured him that he’d been checking on her and making sure that she was alright everyday, and on that stage he knew that his help had been working, as she dominated that song. Their final performance was the riskiest, as whilst Sebastian was taking the lead they still had some backup vocals in French, that not everyone was originally able to adjust to, but rigorous rehearsal and repetition had them feeling confident. And as soon as Sebastian started to lead them, smooth and silky French pouring out of his mouth as they launched into their biggest dance number, all fears washed away, as they delivered their best song of the night. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He just couldn’t tear his eyes away, nearly tripping over his own damn feet at one point as he was more focused on watching Sebastian command the stage than watch where he was going, but it was worth it to see him dance and perform, coming to life under the lights. From the few times they had casually discussed their futures Blaine knew that Sebastian wasn’t interested in a career in the arts, wanting to keep it as more of a hobby than a profession, but Blaine knew that if Sebastian ever wanted to be on the stage as his job, he could do it easily. The crowd were on their feet, he could see a few navy and red blazers up and cheering as they finished their set, taking a quick bow before almost running off the stage, pumped up on adrenaline and energy, all grabbing each other in hugs as soon as they were out of sight. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine wrapped his arms around Sam, being lifted off the ground slightly, and he saw Sebastian hugging Tina and Marley out the corner of his eye. It was a sight he never thought he’d see, and he was shocked at how completely </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>  it looked, how Sebastian seemed to fit in now, no longer looking out of place without his Dalton blazer on, but more at home without it. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The feeling of winning sectionals was a euphoria that knocked Blaine off his feet, somehow feeling even happier than he did when they won nationals. As they celebrated on stage, hoisting the trophy above their heads, he knew it was because this time he had really made a difference, and it felt like more of a victory to him and all the New Directions, not just the seniors of the year before. It was their club now, and he knew as he had one hand gripped tightly onto the cool metal of the trophy that he had helped curate that victory, alongside his best friends, and it felt special. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sugar had obviously declared a victory party, inviting them all over to her house and not really taking no for an answer, although everyone was riding their high from winning that no one would turn it down. They left to go home and change, meeting back up at hers  less sweaty and more casual then they’d been after the competition. Blaine had had a mild wardrobe panic at home, throwing around many different polo and chinos combinations before he realised that he was already half an hour late so just hurriedly got dressed and made his way over, eager to celebrate their well deserved victory.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The Motta residence was exactly as he expected it to be, that new age money and decor that Tony Montana would’ve been proud of, and Blaine made a mental note to never, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span>, meet Sugar’s parents or ask about where they got their money from as he figured it was best to just, not know. By the time he got there everyone else already seemed to have arrived, several cars littering the driveway that he knew would be there until morning, especially given it was already very late in the evening. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He made his way into the house, the front door unlocked, and followed the main source of noise, walking into a large living room where the rest of the New Directions were already drinking, some slouched on furniture and others a little more energetically moving around. It reminded him so much of Rachel’s party back in his sophomore year, his heart aching a little at the memory of being there with Kurt, but only a fraction of the way it used to. Sam was in the middle of trying to teach Joe to do a body roll when he spotted Blaine, leaping over the table and running over to him. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude! I was wondering where you were! Oh my god I missed you bro,” he exclaimed as he yanked Blaine into a hug, hands clapping down on his back and squeezing tightly, Blaine not wanting to say that they’d only seen each other just over an hour ago cos he’d missed Sam as well. The rest of the room greeted him, exchanging a few hugs but most people were at least one drink in by then so just waved hi and continued their conversations. Blaine scanned the furniture but couldn’t see the one person he wanted to, going up on his tip toes slightly to get a better look. Tina raised her eyebrows at him over the rim of her cup and pointed to the other side of the door. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sebastian’s in the kitchen,” she drawled, staring at him with knowing eyes that made him blush and walk backwards into a chair. It was a bit late to play it cool so he just nodded and left, ignoring the way her and Kitty practically cackled at him as he did so. The kitchen was adjacent to the room everyone else was in, the island in the middle littered with different bottles Sugar had provided, stacks of cups and different spirits that was way too overboard for the 14 of them, not that anyone would complain. Sebastian stood by the sink, pouring himself a drink that looked an awful lot more sophisticated than the beer that most of the other guys were chugging down, but Sebastian did always like to think of himself as classy. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>As he walked into the kitchen the other boy’s head lifted up, smiling over at him  and setting the bottle of whisky(?) down. “Figured it had to be you killer, the sounds of your adoring fans screaming when you arrived,” he teased, leaning back against the side. Blaine flipped him off and laughed, moving round to pour himself a drink, settling on just a beer to get him going. He had learned the hard way that going straight in with vodka led to very poor decisions such as making out with Rachel Berry, not something he was ever eager to repeat. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Well not all my adoring fans, you weren’t out there,” he replied, teasing back and cracking open his beer, taking a sip and peering at Sebastian through his lashes. The sound of someone plugging in their music to the speaker and a miscellaneous ABBA song playing reverberated in the background, his friends starting to sing along and yell at each other, all of it somewhat muffled to his ears as all his senses were focused on the boy in front of him. Sebastian was as casual as ever, loose t-shirt and slightly faded, tapered jeans with trainers, a far cry from the preppy popped collar he had sported in Scandals the previous year. Sure, he knew that everything he was wearing was still more expensive than anything he owned, and when he lifted his drink up to his lips he exposed a Gucci belt tugged through his jean loops, but still. He was effortlessly handsome and he knew it, somehow that awareness and confidence made him so much attractive even if it should have made him unbearable. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t need me to scream for you to know I'm an adoring fan, Anderson,” Sebastian replied with a wink, finger rubbing the edge of his glass, “although I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to make me.” Sebsatian’s eyes twinkled cheekily grinning over his cup, and Blaine scoffed at the absurd comment, laughing it off but feeling his chest burn at the suggestion. The mental image of the situation flashed in his mind, Sebastian laid out underneath him,  naked and willing, and Blaine blinked furiously to try and get it out of his head as </span>
  <em>
    <span>nope</span>
  </em>
  <span> that was dangerous. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He took a step back and tried to collect himself, smiling up at Sebastian in the most platonic way he could muster. “Let’s go watch Ryder try not to flirt with Marley and see how long it takes for Tina to start crying,” he said, laughing at Sebastian’s eye roll and dramatic groan, turning to walk back into the main room, taller boy trailing behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take particularly long for the night to get messy, Brittney taking off her top after about half an hour and Sam starting to give lap dances pretty soon after. The music choices got progressively weirder, and although Sugar didn’t have karaoke set up in her house (because honestly who apart from Rachel Berry did?) they all still sang along loudly to everything. Even Sebastian joined in, the alcohol loosening him up to the extent where it didn't look like he hated everyone in the room. His walls were slowly coming down, Blaine noticed, as he actually called some of the New Directions by their real names rather than nicknames or a vague insult, and he willingly got in some of their photos, smiling not smirking or rolling his eyes. Blaine thought it made him beautiful, although he could slightly blame that on the numerous drinks he’d had that evening, as when he looked at Sebastian he swore he was glowing a little bit. Maybe he should have some water. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Tina was currently laying with her head on his shoulder, a comforting presence as Blaine ran a hand through her hair gently, the two of them sat on the floor with legs splayed out in front of them. Sam and Brittney were aggressively making out, Marley was crying and it looked like Ryder was trying to comfort her but panicking severely, Kitty and Sugar dancing in the corner, and Sebastian was...talking to Jake? Blaine narrowed his eyes at them,  not convinced he’d ever seen the two of them having a conversation alone. Sure, they were the designated male dancers of the team, but they’d never really seemed to have spoken, and now they were sat together, thighs pressed up against one another. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He felt his hand tense up in Tina’s hair, to which she responded by digging into his leg with her nails. “Blainey Days is there a reason you’re trying to rip the hair from my scalp?” she moaned, words slurring slightly and burying her face further into his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine winced and released his grip, smoothing down on her head apologetically. “Sorry, TT, accident,” he replied through gritted teeth, eyes still fixated on Sebastian and Jake. He was being ridiculous, he knew that. Jake was dating Marley, and even if he would cheat on her she was about 6 feet away from him, and as far as Blaine knew he was straight anyway. That very solid logic didn’t stop a curling annoyance in his stomach however as he stared at  the two of them, Sebastian actually laughing at something the other boy said, head tilted back and throat exposed, his face a little flushed. Again, logically Blaine was aware his cheeks had colour because he’d gotten through the most of a bottle of whisky and they were in a warm room of sweaty teenagers, but his brain instead supplied him with the suggestion that he was blushing. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jake leaned forwards a little, whispering something in Sebastian’s ear which made him laugh again, now their arms flush against one another as well as their legs, and Blaine clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. They were breathing the same fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>air</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was indecent, and was that Jake’s hand on Sebastian’s thig-</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“WHO WANTS TO PLAY SPIN  THE BOTTLE?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sugar’s voice screeched through the room, Tina suddenly finding energy from somewhere and scrambling to her feet, several New Directions rushing over to where their host was standing holding an empty vodka bottle that had been full not too long ago. Kitty wandered over with her eyes still glued to her phone, followed by Joe and Unique who were probably the most sober in the room. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine got vivid flashbacks to a similar situation two years ago and was just thankful Rachel wasn’t there, but the way Tina was staring at him made him think that it was just his destiny to be made out with by straight girls at parties. He wasn’t sure if he was going to join them, but when he looked at Sebastian and Jake whispering a little and nodding their heads over towards Sugar, before standing up at the same time and heading over, Blaine was on his feet faster than he had moved in an hour. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They all kind of fell back down on the floor in a circle, legs splayed out and drinks scattered around them, Sugar giggled and spinning the bottle without hesitation, Blaine unable to take his eyes off Sebastian who was leaning back on his elbows, torso stretched and neck exposed. A few rounds passed, different  levels of enthusiasm in the kissing that followed, Sam rather eagerly grabbing Ryder’s face and Kitty looking like she was going to be sick when pecking Joe on the lips. The bottle avoided him largely, which he was annoyingly sad about - it had been so long since he had been kissed, been touched, done </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> with anyone, and he just yearned for it. Even if there were no feelings involved, he missed the feeling of another person, and now not even a fucking empty glass bottle would land on him. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After a rather entertaining kiss between Tina and Sebastian where both of them looked so ridiculously unhappy, it was Sebastian’s turn to spin, and Blaine felt himself unconsciously sit up a little, eyes glued to the bottle. He told himself it was just the alcohol, and his little crush on the boy meant that he was a viable candidate for relieving his desire to kiss someone, as well as the fact he was the only gay guy here so it just made sense. But the way his heart skipped a beat every time the glass swung by him betrayed him a little, knowing it was a bit deeper than he allowed himself to think. For a second, it looked like it was actually  going to land on him, Blaine feeling his lips curl slightly, until it just...kept going, and landed on none other than Jake. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There were a few whoops from the girls, Sugar nearly drooling, and Blaine silently wished that Jake was going to come out as homophobic and not go through with it, but no such luck as the boy just grinned and gave Sebastian a cheeky wink, who looked more than thrilled by the selection. Both of them crawled in a little bit, meeting in the middle of the circle and sitting on their knees, with every inch they were getting closer Blaine clenching his fists tighter. Then their lips were on one another’s, Jake’s hand cradling the back of Sebastian’s neck as they closed the space between them, lightly pressing them together. For a moment they stayed fairly still, until Sebastian’s hand came up to press on Jake’s cheekbone and then all of a sudden they were moving, lips sliding against lips and jaw’s tensing. Blaine sat frozen, throat completely dry as he saw a tongue move between their mouths, and Jake’s hand twist in some of the loose hair at the other’s neck, shoving their faces closer together, and then one of them </span>
  <em>
    <span>moaned</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he had to physically sit on his hands to stop himself from pulling them apart. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After what felt like an eternity they tore themselves away from each other to the leering and wolf whistles of the group, both with red, swollen lips, Sebastian’s hair sticking up slightly as they grinned at one another sitting back down. Kitty started saying something vaguely offensive but Blaine could only hear white noise, hating how dishevelled and used Sebastian looked, nonchalantly sitting back down with the neck of his top slightly askew so his collarbone was on show. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine breathed deeply, suddenly feeling sober and wasted all at once, body tingling and head spinning, so he mumbled something about getting some water and fresh air and clambered up, walking in the direction of what he thought was the backdoor to stand in the garden. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cold air smacked him in the face as he made it outside, cooling down his burning skin a little, helping to calm his heart rate and ground him back to reality.  Seeing Sebastian kiss Jake, it made him feel sick, his whole body angry and he didn’t know why. Yes, he knew that he found the ex-Warbler attractive - he’d known that from the second their eyes met back in the Dalton common room, and that they’d become close friends over the past few months at McKinley, but that shouldn’t make him feel this way. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The door creaked slightly behind him, someone inching their way outside to join him, footsteps light and tentative. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything alright killer? You ran out of there pretty fast.” Of course it was Sebastian, it always seemed to be him. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine sighed, quietly groaning and tilting his head back to rest on the wall behind him, staring at the sky, cursing his luck. He wrapped his arms around his torso tightly, the air sharp against his skin, a welcome coolness but still very brisk for just a polo. “I’m fine Sebastian, it was just a bit hot in there,” he muttered, really wishing he could wallow in self pity by himself, rather than deal with the person who was making him feel like this, even if  he wasn’t his fault. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, and it had nothing to do with the fact that you were staring at Puckerman like you wanted to rip his dick off,” Sebastian snorted, moving to lean on the wall that Blaine had propped himself up against, his shoulder against the brick so that he was staring at his face.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what? No I wasn’t,” Blaine spluttered, avoiding eye contact and feeling his face heat up despite the cold. He was still pretty drunk so he wasn’t sure the right words even came out, tightening his arms around himself for warmth and comfort. Sebastian just chuckled deeply, inching closer so Blaine could feel the heat radiating off his body, that he just wanted to bury his face into.  “Why do you even care, just go back inside it’s cold out here,” he muttered, closing his eyes to stop some of the spinning, and so he didn’t have to look at the taller boy.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian sighed, pausing for a moment before reaching out his arm and snaking it around Blaine’s neck, pulling him into his body and wrapping his other arm around his shoulders. Blaine let himself be dragged in, too surprised to protest, enveloped in the warmth and musk of the other boy which was intoxicating, his own limbs finding their way around Sebastian's waist of their own accord. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I care because you look like someone killed a puppy in front of you, and I don’t like seeing you like that,” Sebastian said slowly, jaw resting against his curls lightly, soothingly rubbing circles on his back that were uncharacteristically comforting. “You do realise it’s just a game, yeah? It didn’t mean anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine puffed out a breath into Sebastian’s neck, cheek pressed into his collarbone. “I know, I just didn’t really expect you to get so into it, I guess. I don’t know why I freaked out,” he mumbled, voice slightly muffled as he spoke into the skin. Explaining his feelings seemed a little pointless, he had all but just admitted that he didn’t like seeing Sebastian kiss someone else, but he really didn’t want to have to talk about anything deeper than that. Both boys knew there was a push and pull between them, but Blaine could never allow it to develop any further, as it could only lead to his own broken heart. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I like kissing people killer, always have. He pushed it a bit further and I was happy to comply, not one to turn down a good kiss from an attractive man,” Sebastian said so matter of fact, shrugging a little. “I have sex with people and don’t get attatched, so kissing some straight guy during a game of spin the bottle doesn’t mean I’m going to start writing ‘Seb and Jake 4ever’ on my notebooks.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine knew he was just teasing, but it only affirmed his previous thought. He couldn’t do that, separate the act from the person, not in that way, the way that Sebastian could. There was a pause between them,  Blaine not wanting to move from the embrace, not able to say anything in response, just relishing the intimacy as long as he was allowed. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian pulled back slightly, one hand reaching up to lightly cradle the side of Blaine’s face, thumb swiping over his cheekbone, green eyes unreadable under the soft light of the  stars. “You know, I’m happy the bottle didn’t land on you,” he said, Blaine’s heart sinking immediately, tears threatening in his eyes as the intimate position they were in just seemed painful now-</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m happy it didn’t land on you, because I don’t want our first kiss to be drunk at a party with everybody watching.” </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine’s spiralling thoughts were interrupted by those whispered words, spoken softly into his hair and they seeped into his skin, flooding his body with a cocktail of feelings. He had never heard Sebastian say something like that,  the assertion that they would kiss, that he would want it to mean...something </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He gazed up at his face, leaning his cheek into Sebastian’s palm slightly, his own hands fisted into the back of his t-shirt. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” he managed to say, barely a whisper, just letting his lips part and the sound fall out, his vision still slightly swaying from the alcohol, and he could tell Sebastian was far from sober as well, a vulnerability and emotion showing on his face that he was usually so cautious about hiding. They stood there, hands on each other, bodies held tightly, just the barest hint of moonlight highlighting their faces, still and unmoving. Blaine wasn’t sure how much time passed, but slowly their body heat faded and the cold bitterness of the air caught up with them, both shivering slightly with a light covering of goosebumps. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, let’s head inside, we can’t let you die from hyperthermia your ass is too good to waste,” Sebastian chuckled, teeth chattering as he teased. Before letting go Blaine felt the other boys tighten his arms slightly for a second, pressing him closer to his chest momentarily, then dropping his limbs down, releasing Blaine. He immediately craved the contact again, but let himself be led back inside by Sebastian, the warmth of the house a welcome change of temperature as they headed towards the sounds of Fleetwood Mac and screaming teenagers, hands loosely entwined. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading!! im killer-leo on tumblr</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. slow dancing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>another big thanks to himbosamevans (on ao3 and tumblr she changed name oop) for proofreading this mess and bullying me into doing stuff, thank you from me and shawty &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Since the party, their relationship had shifted slightly, as they moved from autumn to winter, they went from friends to...something. They never kissed, never spoke about their feelings, didn’t do anything that on the surface would suggest to anyone that things were deeper than that. But Blaine knew that something was different, there were lingering glances and lasting touches that hadn’t been there before, some of Sebastian’s fiercest walls coming down, especially as he let himself be properly part of the glee club. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Winning sectionals solidified the New Directions as a team; their rehearsals became more energised and there were less fights breaking out, Sebastian now sitting with them most days at lunch and not actively insulting them all the time, just occasionally. Blaine made the effort to keep in contact with his Warbler friends, to not let those friendships slip away from him like they had  over the last year, helped by the fact that Sebastian clearly wanted to maintain those relationships also, the two of them meeting up with Nick and Jeff every other week usually, sometimes with Thad, Trent, or Meatbox as well. On one memorable occasion Hunter had turned up, sitting at their table mostly in silence apart from to throw a few bitchy comments around or side eye them - Blaine didn’t hate the guy as much as he should, and losing sectionals seemed to have mellowed him out a bit. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Christmas was soon approaching, which meant festive drinks, warm sweaters and classic movies, Blaine feeling more childlike as the days went on and the holiday got closer, unable to stop his anticipation for his favourite time of year. He’d even managed to convince  Sebastian to come over to have a holiday movie marathon with him - well, he managed to invite him over to his house, but he left out the whole Christmas film part in order to get him to actually come over. When Blaine pulled out his stack of festive movies Sebastian nearly turned around and left, declaring himself to be a Grinch and allergic to Christmas, but Blaine’s pleading wore him down in a fairly short amount of time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Which is how they had ended up on Blaine’s couch for the better part of 3 hours, drinking hot chocolate and their legs covered by a blanket, Love Actually currently playing on the tv. He felt a little guilty for forcing Sebastian to hang out with him and just sit and watch films he probably hated, but he knew the other boy would simply leave if he didn’t want to be there; plus, he could see him trying to stop himself smiling during several points of the various movies. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian underneath a fluffy blanket with a warm mug in his hands was an image Blaine wasn’t sure he would ever be able to get out of his head; it was a level of domesticity and tenderness that wasn’t really associated with him, more befitting to a cocktail party or private golf club, but it suited him, even though Blaine knew he’d probably get assaulted by a decorative pillow if  he ever said that out loud.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You do realise that the majority of the characters in this film are horrible people right?” Sebastian declared, rolling his eyes at the screen where Alan Rickman was flirting with his secretary. “Like, there’s about three of them that aren’t fucking awful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine frowned and poked him in the side with his foot, as he leant back against the arm rest, his feet near Sebastian’s lap. “Stop trying to ruin Christmas, Smythe, it won’t work; I can see you smiling whenever Colin Firth is on screen, so shut it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I just think he’s hot and my smile has nothing to do with the actual film,” Sebastian fired back, jamming his elbow into Blaine’s feet to nudge him off, though his words were not very convincing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, whatever you say,” Blaine teased, feeling his heart flutter when their eyes briefly met, Sebastian’s green eyes soft and twinkling, smile lines framing them. Sebastian tried to bite his cheek to stop himself from grinning but Blaine saw straight through it, chuckling at the eye roll he got in return. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you hate Christmas so much anyway? Are you allergic to cinnamon or Bing Crosby? I’ve seen you eat a candy cane that Marley gave you, so you’re not fully a Grinch.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian set down his mug on the table next to him, leaning back further into the sofa and letting a hand rest on top of Blaine’s foot. “First of all, I ate that candy cane only because Marley gave it to me, and I would never do anything to upset that girl,” Sebastian declared, picking up Blaine’s feet and setting them on his lap, voice teasing but slightly thick, avoiding eye contact. “And secondly, Christmas is overrated, and not all it’s cracked up to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stared at all the wall in front of him, Blaine frowning slightly at the tone of his voice; how it sounded just a bit too deep and too quiet, although his chest tingled at the gesture of having his feet placed in his lap, strangely domestic. “Why, do your family not really celebrate it?” he asked softly, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, but also feeling the need to try and understand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian scoffed, a cold look on his face as a hand rubbed circles on Blaine’s ankle. “Growing up with parents who hate each other doesn’t always make for the warmest of a holiday season,” he said quietly, anger in his voice but also a sadness that made Blaine’s heart ache. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And then my mom moved to Paris, and dad didn’t really want to make a big deal out of a holiday for just the two of us; it reminded him of the wife that left him too much, I guess. When I moved to France for a few years, we did a semi-traditional Christmas because my mom loves the season. You’d get on well with her, you know.” Sebastian gave him a soft smile at that, squeezing his hand. “But she’s there, and now I’m back here, and my dad tries, I guess, but we’re not exactly winning any father and son awards any time soon - I mean, he sent me to McKinley, after all. Let’s just say my family isn't exactly the warm and cuddly kind.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was the first time Sebastian had mentioned the transfer since the first day in the choir room, it being a sort of taboo topic in their friendship. Blaine was tempted to push further, but he knew how difficult the other boy found it to open up like this, and the last thing he wanted was to overwhelm and scare him off; he didn’t need that right now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, Blaine just smiled up at him softly, wiggling his toes into his thigh. “Your mum sounds lovely, I hope I get to meet her one day,” he said, hoping that would be enough, and yet not too much. Sebastian seemed happy with his response, lips curling up and humming, some of the previous tension releasing from his shoulders. They settled back into watching the film, and after a while Sebastian started up with his commentary again, ripping into every character and plot point until Blaine’s sides hurt from laughing, and his eyes were creased from smiling. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just as the nativity with the octopus was playing on the screen, the doorbell rang. Blaine jumped up to go and answer it, presuming it to be one of his parents' friends, or a delivery driver with a package. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he opened the door, Burt Hummel was probably the least likely person he’d expect to be standing on his front porch. His ex’s dad looked a little uncomfortable and nervous in his baseball cap and large jacket, hands in his pockets.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, hey, Burt…” he said slowly, not really sure what to do, slightly frozen in shock. The older man gave him a closed mouth smile and scratched the back of his neck, moving from foot to foot in a clear display of nerves.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey kid, sorry for dropping by unannounced like this, do you mind if I step in? I won’t be long.” Blaine paused for a second, then realised himself and nodded, stepping back so that Burt could come in, closing the door behind him. Burt had never once been into his house, and he didn’t even realise that the man knew where he lived, but as they stood in the hallway he figured it must be a pretty important reason for him to drop by, especially now he and Kurt weren’t dating. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, is Kurt okay? Did something happen to him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Burt held up his hands and shook his head, cutting off Blaine's sudden panic. “No, kid, Kurt’s fine, he doesn’t even know that I’m here. I just need to talk to you about something.”  Blaine swallowed thickly, crossing his arms over his stomach and trying to stop any rising anxiety at  this situation. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Burt started talking, speaking slowly and carefully, hands gesturing as he spoke and avoiding making eye contact, Blaine’s heart dropping at every word. Cancer. He couldn’t believe it, the term smacking him in the face. Burt explained that it was caught very early on, he had a very high chance of full survival and it wasn’t much to worry about, but Blaine knew it was still </span>
  <em>
    <span>cancer</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He nodded dumbly as Burt spoke, unable to move or talk as his throat closed up, letting his ex’s father explain the situation. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he said that he would pay for Blaine’s flight to New York, take them there together, spend the holidays with Kurt, he couldn’t help the confusion that spread through him. He reminded Burt that they’d broken up, and hadn’t been dating for months, and that Kurt probably wouldn’t want to see him, let alone spend Christmas with him. Blaine also thought about his own family, what they would say if he asked to leave all of them for the holiday to go see his ex boyfriend, how upset they would be. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Burt explained that he knew they were separated, but just thought it might make the news a little easier for Kurt to bear - but he also said it was just an option, and he wouldn’t pressure him to say yes. Blaine felt frozen; a small part of him still wanted to get on that plane and escape to New York, maybe sing a duet together, go ice skating, feel the way they used to. But what would that help? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who</span>
  </em>
  <span> would that help? Surely it would just draw out both of their pain, maybe give them a moment of happiness before it all came crashing down again, when they’d both been working hard to move on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt himself blinking in silence at Burt, who looked as if he was going to say something before he was looking over Blaine’s shoulder, eyes narrowing slightly. A body came and stood by his side, and he realised that Sebastian had left the living room and was now standing a few inches away from him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry, kid, I, uh, didn’t realise you had company.” Burt looked a little awkward, curtly nodding at Sebastian. Blaine’s face heated up a little and he rubbed his arm, feeling the presence of the taller boy next to him, and he looked up to see his face, which was unreadable, hair slightly dishevelled and face calm. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ok, this is just my, uh, friend, Sebastian. We were just watching movies,” he stuttered, not sure why he felt the need to explain himself, feeling oddly guilty even though there was nothing to be guilty about. Sebastian shuffled a little closer, arms pressed against one another, face unmoving. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Burt just held up his hands, smiling at Blaine as he started towards the door. “Don’t worry about it - look, kid, have a think and let me know by tomorrow. Do whatever you think is right.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine swallowed thickly and nodded, though feet stayed rooted to the spot. “Alright, it was good to see you, Burt,” he replied, knowing the man would hate him for saying anything like ‘I’m sorry’, instead just giving a slight wave and smile as the older man left his house, door shutting behind him. After he’d left, Blaine roughly exhaled a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, his body deflating and taking a step back. Sebastian moved quickly, turning to stand in front of him, hands pressed into his forearms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You ok, killer? I couldn’t help but overhear… I’m sorry. That must be tough,” the taller boy offered softly, hands rubbing up and down. Blaine relaxed into the touch, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, collecting himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He said that it’s fully operable, and that he has an extremely high rate of full recovery… he’s going to be ok. He has to be.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Burt was a good man, and a great father, and no matter Blaine’s relationship with Kurt he knew he would also look up to the man, and need him to be doing ok. The lingering question about Christmas and New York lay between them, neither one bringing it up but both of them aware of the underlying weight that Burt’s visit gave them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian squeezed his forearms slightly, before dropping his hands and letting one entwine with Blaine, then leading him back to the couch, but this time pulling him so Blaine ended up with his head on Sebastian’s chest, and arm around his shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it’s not really my place, B, but are you sure going to New York is the best idea?” His voice was tentative, not the blunt honesty and firmness that he usually spoke with then discussing things, especially ‘Kurt’ related things.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine nuzzled his cheek slightly into the firm planes of muscle of Sebastian’s chest and melted into the touch, trying to find a way to articulate his thoughts. “I don’t think it is… it’s going to be so hard for Kurt, but honestly, I think having me there will make it worse, as it adds more emotions and complications to an already tough situation. Also, it’ll probably just send mixed messages - he asked if we could talk about our relationship over Christmas and I said no, so if I turn up there, then what does that mean?” He was thinking out loud, running through the different strains of thoughts in his head, navigating the situation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Every view always lead back to the same answer however - no. If he went to New York, what problem would it solve, what error would it fix? He’d be there for Kurt, but as an emotional anchor, which would simply end up being toxic for them both. And a small part of him couldn’t help but keep returning to Sebastian - what would the other boy think if he just got on a plane and ran off to his ex; what would that mean for them? Even though they weren’t anything, really, he couldn’t help but feel as though it would drive a wedge between them that would be difficult to fix. The matter of Kurt always seemed to cause disruptions whenever they got closer. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His spiralling train of thought must’ve been obvious as Sebastian tucked him in closer, so he was almost on top of his lap, cheek resting atop his curls. “Think about it, Blaine, and do what’s best for you. Let’s just sit here, watch the rest of these straight people fuck up their lives, and talk to Burt tomorrow, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine smiled into his chest, nodding lightly and let himself be held, revelling in the intimacy of their position as well as his words. He turned his attention back to the tv as Love Actually was in its final act, sneaking glances up at the boy next to him as often as he could. And if he saw Sebastian looking down at him as well, then he didn’t say anything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Christmas came and went and Blaine stayed in Ohio. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as Sebastian had left that afternoon he had called Burt, explained that he couldn’t go and he was sorry, but it just wouldn’t be right. The other man had been understanding, and they wished one another a happy holiday, but they left it at that; Blaine knew that Burt wasn’t upset, and he probably knew that it was for the best. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The last few days of term went by in a blur: Sam and Brittney were convinced there was going to be a Mayan apocalypse, Jake ran off to Los Angeles for a bit, and he was pretty sure Sue broke into Marley’s house. He had a fairly quiet Christmas, and though Cooper was unable to come home, they called every other day; the two of them were so much closer after his last visit in junior year, and he promised to come back to Ohio, when he could, to see him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He saw his friends when possible, he and Sam having several video game days, with the occasional guest appearances from Artie and Jake - and sometimes Tina, too, but she preferred to just eat Blaine’s snacks and force them to take turns braiding her hair. Blaine and Sebastian also met up with some of the Warblers more, either at his house or at Dalton, even though Sebastian usually needed a little more convincing to go to the school as he declared if he saw Hunter he would ‘play him like an accordion’ or ‘choke him so hard with his tie his head would pop off’. Blaine thought that, actually, the two of them would probably get on quite well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The few days of actual Christmas were nice: a quiet family dinner, but the atmosphere was slightly warmer than it had been before, Blaine and his dad talking and laughing together, and making him feel more relieved than ever that he had stayed home. He had to go to some relative’s New Years party, not able to spend it with friends, but luckily most of them seemed to have to celebrate it with family anyway, so he didn’t feel too left out; plus, it saved him from his inevitable embarrassment of trying to find someone to kiss him. Thankfully he didn’t need to worry about that with his cousins.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the school year started up again and they all flooded back to McKinley, Blaine  was feeling happy with his life, surrounded by his friends and his glee club; things were seemingly just fitting into place for him. He’d shared one phone call with Kurt, as his dad told him that Blaine knew about the diagnosis, and, whilst it was good to hear his voice, nice to be able to talk to him, there wasn’t that ache in his chest that had accompanied thinking about his ex for so long; he knew that he was finally starting to be able to move on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He should’ve known his happiness would’ve been fairly short lived, when in the first student council meeting back Tina declared that they should do a Sadie Hawkins dance, and everyone rigorously agreed. She had that look in her eye that he knew meant she wanted this to happen and nothing was going to stop her, plus she had this whole female empowerment thing going and if he tried to turn it down he figured it could turn into a gender debate he did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to participate in. Instead, he had to swallow hard and nod along, saved only by the fact that Tina and the other girls wanted to take most of it themselves so thankfully he could avoid it as much as he could.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Until, of course, the very next day when it was brought up in glee club, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was. Seemingly every aspect of his life had to become entwined at all times, because now the stupid dance was taking over the choir room, where all he wanted to do was sing and dance, goddammit. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, we’re all happy about the idea of singing to those people we want to invite? It seems like a great idea for the girls to take control and perform for the boys a bit,” Finn said at the front of the room, still filling in for Mr Schue in his absence. There was a general murmur of consensus, different people looking around the room in not so subtle displays of trying to eye up a date. Blaine was aware he probably looked a little stroppy, but he didn’t really care - he just wasn’t really interested in the dance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Next to him, Sebastian lazily stuck his hand in the air, slouched down in his seat. “We obviously didn’t have Sadie Hawkins at Dalton, so what exactly are the rules for gay guys? No offence to you girls, but there’s no way I’m going to a dance in a straight couple.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finn blinked a few times, eyes desperately scanning the room trying to find someone to answer Sebastian’s question, which Blaine had to admit made a lot of sense. Kitty turned around to look at him, hands resting on the back of her chair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ladies choice, Smythe, I don’t think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to worry about getting asked. And since when would you ever care about having a date to a high school dance? I would’ve thought a quickie in the bathroom would be more your speed.” Sebastian snorted out a laugh at that, clearly not offended by Kitty’s statement, looking more amused than anything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just saying, not every guy wants a girl to ask them, so maybe just let us gays sort ourselves out, hm?” he said, for some reason giving Tina a pointed look with a raised eyebrow, who just frowned at him and turned away. Finn nodded sharply and swiftly moved the conversation on, saying something about creating a setlist for the dance, but Blaine was too fixated on what Sebastian had said - was he thinking of asking someone to the dance?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It really didn’t seem like his thing; Blaine had just imagined him turning up stag, dressed in an impossibly expensive and tailored suit, most of the girls drooling over him and their boyfriends getting annoyed - but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> annoyed, as it wasn’t like Sebastian was going to do anything about it. He spent the remainder of the hour lost in thought about it, until the bell rang and he had to drag himself up to go to class.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the day passed smoothly, Blaine being focused on his schoolwork and thinking of some ideas for what they should sing at the dance, until Tina texted them all to meet in the locker room at the end of the day so that she could ask her date to the Sadie Hawkins dance out through song. Blaine figured that it was probably Artie, as he knew they had a history - and he couldn’t really think of anyone else she’d want to ask.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian slouched down in the seat next to him, suspiciously eyeing up Tina with his arms crossed over his chest, for some reason looking a little apprehensive. Blaine gave him a nudge and a frown to try and get him to sort his face out - he and Tina had just started getting along, and if he was side-eyeing her the entire performance it would probably set them back a little. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When she started singing ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him’ from Jesus Christ Superstar, Blaine smiled and scrunched his nose at her - they had sung it together in his car just the week before, which was a nice coincidence, he thought; he was just happy to listen to her voice, which really was beautiful. There sure was a lot of eye contact going on, but it was a fairly emotional song so it made sense, really, and he kept smiling throughout. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine briefly glanced at Sebastian next to him, checking to see if he was being a little more upbeat about her performance, but to his annoyance the other boy still looked unimpressed, with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised at Tina, almost a scowl on his face. He was considering giving him a subtle smack, but then the song was over, Tina holding onto the last note a bit before fading out. Blaine immediately started clapping, looking round the room at everyone else who was less than enthusiastically applauding, all staring at him for some reason. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, let’s give it up for Tina!” Finn said, pointedly looking at everyone and clapping very loudly, the sound falling a little dead in the locker room. She closed her eyes and smiled, before taking a deep breath and walking to stand in front of them; Blaine nudged Artie next to him, as she was obviously going to ask him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Blaine, will you go to the dance with me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He froze, hands still partly mid clap, feeling his mouth drop open. She was asking him? Blaine was gay, very obviously very gay, in the fact that he feels no attraction to women and enjoys having sex with men, all of which Tina knows. The tension in the air was so thick it almost masked the smell of being in the locker room, everyone falling completely silent and staring at him. Blaine’s mind was racing in attempt to figure out what to do, what to say, how he could possibly turn down his best friend but he just couldn’t say ye-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He can’t, Tina, he’s already going with someone.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian’s voice interrupted the deafening silence of the room, Blaine jerking his head to stare at him, because what </span>
  <em>
    <span>the fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> no he most certainly was not. Everyone was now very intently watching the three of them, clearly entertained as well as very uncomfortable. Tina’s eyes were darting back and forth, her face a little scrunched up in confusion, but Blaine had no answer for her; this was not a situation he had ever planned for, and he had no idea what to do. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s going with me, so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And, okay, if he was shocked before he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>electrocuted</span>
  </em>
  <span> right now. He felt his eyes bulge a little as he gawked at Sebastian, who just grinned at him and narrowed his eyes, in a pretty subtle ‘just go along with it’ gesture. Blaine paused for a second, and then realised that despite the absolute absurdity, this was probably the only way to get him out turning down Tina without a valid excuse, and he didn’t want to do anything to upset or embarrass her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So he turned his gaze back to where she was waiting expectantly and offered a slightly guilty smile. “Yeah, TT, sorry. I was going to tell you when school was done, but never got the time. It’s just, we’re two gay guys and so we thought it would be easier to go together, since we wouldn’t really go with girls, you know?” he stuttered, trying his best to explain his way through a lie and wondering why Sebastian couldn’t have just said this seeing as it was</span>
  <em>
    <span> his </span>
  </em>
  <span>bloody idea in the first place. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tina stood still, swallowing heavily, before finally giving a small nod. “That, uh, that makes sense, Blaine. I’m sorry I didn’t ask beforehand,” she stammered, before looking over at Sugar and Unique, who stood up silently, and the three of them all walked out the locker room, Marley and Kitty not far behind. Blaine felt the eyes of all the boys on him and Sebastian, Sam staring at him curiously; the scrutiny was too much, so he grabbed Sebastian’s arm and pulled him, dragging them out of the locker room where thankfully the girls had already made their distance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He rounded a corner and then gently shoved on Sebastian’s chest, not pinning him to the wall but backing him up against it, palm pressing into his top. “Ok, what the fuck was that?” he hissed, trying to keep his voice down in case anyone from the glee club overheard them. “Now everyone thinks we’re just two sad gay men who hate women!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian snorted and just let himself lean on the wall, seemingly unbothered by being crowded up against it. “That’s not my fault, killer; you do realise you could’ve said we were going together right? Like the way most normal people do?” Blaine felt his face scrunch up slightly, not sure what Sebastian was trying to say - was he implying that he told Tina they were going together… on a date?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I, uh, didn’t think that was what you meant,” Blaine admitted, letting his hand slide down slowly, lightly tracing along his sternum before dropping it to his side. “You could’ve said something though, you did just drop me in it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian nodded in agreement at that statement and straightened his back a little. “I know, I’m sorry. Anything seemed better than the direction of the conversation you and Tina were having though, because Jesus that was awkward.” Blaine deflated his shoulders at that, groaning slightly under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“God, I know, I don’t get why she would ask me that? I mean she knows I’m gay, and that I’m not exactly keen on going anyway,” he muttered, turning around to lean on the wall next to Sebastian, shoulders touching. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The other boy nudged their arms together a bit and hummed comfortingly. “Do you want to go? If you really don’t want to, we can skip out, go to Sandals or something?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, grinning down at him, and Blaine felt himself unable to stop a smile, ducking his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m senior class president - I really should go. Plus, we’re apparently the live entertainment, so even if we don’t want to be there, our voices need to be.” For a school that actively hated the glee club they sure did want them to perform at a lot of their events, Blaine thought, although it was probably just so they didn’t have to pay anyone else to do it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, well, just text me about your suit and I’ll try to make sure whatever I wear doesn’t clash horrifically - and I’ll even allow you to feel me up, if you want,” Sebastian teased, flashing him a quick wink before pushing off the wall and moving to leave. “You should probably go find Cohen-Chang and stop her from crying or writing your name in the burn book; see you later, killer.” Blaine watched him go, trying to push down the eager anticipation he was starting to feel about the dance, and instead went to try and find Tina, making sure he had tissues at the ready. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily after a long, heart to heart conversation with his best friend there was no tension between them, Blaine maintaining the lie that Sebastian had already asked him but also explaining how he just couldn’t go with her, and Tina allowing herself to be honest about her lingering feelings for Mike. It was nice to sit and talk to her properly, even if he did massively skirt around the topic that was Sebastian, not quite sure what to say there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were more song proposals, most of the glee club getting coupled up over the weeks leading up to prom, and their rehearsals dedicated to practicing for performing at the dance. Sebastian tried to bring up their regionals set list but was promptly shut down, and it showed how much he’d changed over the year as he barely argued back, only once insinuating that Mr Schue should be fired for neglect.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tina and Artie decide to go as friends, much to Blaine’s relief, as if she had ended up going alone after basically organising the whole thing herself he didn’t think his guilt would ever stop. Sebastian had been surprisingly open about the whole dance situation - helping to give advice on his suit, offering to take care of their transport, checking with what he was comfortable with. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>During one late night phone call, Blaine had explained why he had his reservations about going to the dance initially, telling Sebastian about his previous Sadie Hawkins experience and the assault that had left him in the hospital; what had, ultimately, made him transfer to Dalton in the first place. Sebastian immediately said that they didn’t have to go, offering to make different plans or even to just spend the night in, not hesitating in saying that Blaine’s comfort came first. It was heartwarming and made him blush down the phone, but in the end he reassured him that he was ok with going, that he wanted to be able to start moving on and not miss out on a night with his friends. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian had gone quiet, before asking again, wanting to make sure he was ok with it; it was a persistence in checking that he was alright that Blaine had never known before, one that warmed his whole body and settled a churning feeling in his heart. He’d sent descriptions of his suit so that they wouldn’t clash, and just asked Sebastian if they could drive there, nothing fancy, just wanting to keep the night fun and casual. They’d arranged between them that Sebastian would pick him up at his house, driving the two of them over together, with no corsages or tacky prom stuff.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The night of the Sadie Hawkins came around sooner than he expected, the first few weeks of term rushing past, and before he knew it Blaine was standing in his bedroom shrugging on a suit jacket, dress shoes and a bowtie tight around his neck. He’d gone with a black velvet jacket, wanting to be a little different from the standard tux, but not exactly push the boundaries of  fashion too far out - it was still a public school in Ohio, after all. Sebastian had demanded that he not ‘cement down his hair’ as he so kindly put it, so he’d loosened it up a bit, softer waves rather than smooth lines. Looking in the mirror he adjusted himself, trying desperately to fix anything even slightly out of place. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This wasn’t really a date, he knew that, just two friends going together, but he still ached to be perfect, and to look the best that he could, feeling an insatiable need to be good enough for Sebastian, even if the other boy had never insinuated that he wasn’t. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, the doorbell rang through the house, Blaine giving himself one last check over before heading down the stairs, jogging over to the front door as quickly as he could. He swung it open, revealing Sebastian stood in the doorway. Blaine’s knees damn nearly gave way at the sight of him in his suit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, he’d seen him in his Dalton uniform, but those things weren’t exactly tailored and were still very much a school uniform, not really exuding any sex appeal. Sebastian in a fitted, slim, dark suit however, very much did, broadening his shoulders and elongating his legs deliciously, so simple yet ridiculously charming. He’d gotten so used to seeing him around McKinley in his jeans and t-shirt, or even his letterman jacket, that witnessing him in a suit was almost overwhelming. And Blaine knew Sebastian’s background, and he knew that he probably wore clothes like this more than anyone he knew, at cocktail parties and charity galas, but it was his first time taking this all in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>And taking it all in he was, suddenly remembering that drooling silently over the person that  was picking you up instead of actually speaking to them wasn’t really proper etiquette. Blaine looked up at Sebastian’s face, smiling at him softly, admiring the lightly styled hair and smooth skin, the other boy’s eyes soft and surprising warm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anderson, you’ve truly outdone yourself,” Sebastian announced, looking him up and down with an appreciative hum, quickly wetting his lips. “It almost doesn’t seem fair taking you to the dance, all the girls will immediately break up with their boyfriends once they see you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt his cheeks heat up and bit the inside of his cheek, still bashful around his brazen compliments. He stepped outside the house and shut the door behind him, noting Sebastian’s sleek and probably very expensive car on his driveway. “Thanks, I think. You don’t look too bad yourself, Smythe,” he replied cheekily, making his way over to the vehicle. Sebastian scoffed and came round to open up the passenger door for him with an exaggerated sweeping bow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, I look hot as fuck, might even turn a few straight guys tonight,” he teased, holding open the door and waggling his eyebrows at Blaine. The gesture was both a little exaggerated and jokey, but was also still slightly romantic, Blaine ducking into the car with a blush, realising that no one had ever done that for him. Sebastian closed it with a gentle push and moved round to get in his own side, effortlessly climbing onto the leather seat and turning on the engine, flashing Blaine a grin and a wink as he looked over his shoulder to reverse out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arriving at the school gymnasium, Blaine could barely believe it was McKinley; Tina had more than outdone herself with the decorations and theme of the dance, and he couldn’t be more proud of his best friend. Sebastian looked a little impressed, but he was used to a little more grand circumstances than this, probably having a ballroom in his house or whatever, so Blaine wasn’t too bothered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tina spotted them as they walked in, side by side but hands not touching, heading towards the nexus of people on the dancefloor. She ran over, stunning in a navy dress and she pulled Blaine into a hug, squeezing him tightly with a wide smile on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“TT, this place looks incredible. I'm so proud of you, honestly,” Blaine said, muffled into her hair. She pulled away and gave Sebastian a nod which he returned, and - yeah, he really couldn’t expect any more than that from the two of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Blainey Days, I’m so glad you’re here. I kinda thought for a moment you weren’t going to make it,” she admitted, rubbing one of his forearms. Blaine hated that he made her doubt him, as if he wouldn’t come when she put all this insane work in, but he was here now, and that was what matters. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Killer, I think you’re up; that ridiculous boy band number you’re doing looks like it’s about to start,” Sebastian pointed out, gesturing to where Sam, Artie, Ryder and Jake were all on the stage. Blaine resisted the urge to make a comment about the fact that the other boy had literally performed a song by The Wanted at last year’s regionals, and they were an </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual </span>
  </em>
  <span>boyband, instead making an immature face at him and turning to kiss Tina on the cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll see you guys after; don’t kill each other!” He gave them both a grin and headed off to the stage, glimpsing over his shoulder in time to see Sebastian hold out his hand to Tina, offering a dance. Hell had frozen over then apparently, as she actually took it and they moved towards the crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘No Scrubs’ went down a treat, even if he wasn’t sure how appealing his dance moves were, but everytime he made eye contact with Sebastian </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> seemed to be enjoying the view, which did encourage him a little bit. It was a fun number, and when they finished Ryder and Joe took over with Kitty to perform something, allowing Blaine to jump off of the stage and slip his suit jacket back on. Tina and Sebastian had also made it through the entire song without killing each other and were somewhat smiling, which was both heartwarming as well as unsettling. Artie came over and took Tina for a dance, and Blaine made his way to Sebastian, a little out of breath from the performance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t too embarrassing, was it? A lot of that choreography wasn’t planned,” Blaine  chuckled, accepting the cup that was handed to him and gratefully drinking from it: some punch that was currently unspiked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It probably should’ve been ridiculous, but you managed to pull it off, Anderson; better than the rest of them up there, anyway,” Sebastian replied teasingly. They managed to have a small conversation - mainly consisting of Blaine trying to stop the other boy physically insulting half the room - before Marley came over and whisked Sebastian away for their duet, some poppy song undoubtedly chosen by her, that if anyone else had asked him to sing Sebastian probably would’ve scratched them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine took the time to dance with Sam and Brittney, casting his eyes over at Sebastian and Marley more often than he should, but he just loved seeing the two of them together; they were such an unlikely pairing, but one that was genuinely so pure. After that, Sam and Jake joined Sebastian on the stage for a number that was borderline inappropriate for a high school, but very much appreciated by anyone attracted to men. Blaine’s mouth dried up a little as he danced with the girls, although every single one of them was just kind of drooling at the stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The night went on, and he found himself having more fun than he could’ve imagined; yes, he wasn’t at the dance with a boyfriend like he had been the last few times, but this was more about a celebration with his friends, about not taking himself too seriously and simply letting go. Even Sebastian was having fun, his top button undone and tie loosened, spinning Blaine around and dancing with all the girls who were very eager to have his arms around them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slow songs were getting more frequent as the night went on, more solos rather than group numbers as people’s feet got tired and their need for romance got stronger. As Sebastian headed to the stage - he was very popular up there that evening - Blaine settled down onto a chair, body tired but also not wanting to slow dance with anyone as Sebastian sang, feeling weirdly uncomfortable by that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The opening notes of a Taylor Swift song started, which was not something that he expected to hear Sebastian sing, recognising it as the acoustic version of ‘State of Grace’, and Blaine made a mental note to tease him for being a swiftie later on. He never grew tired of watching Sebastian sing, of hearing his voice and feeling the emotion he could put into the lyrics, able to transform into different personas, each one as charismatic as the last.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Up on that stage however, Blaine didn’t see him in a persona, instead appearing more raw and open than he had ever seen him, despite his audience and the lights beaming down. Their eyes connected, and all of the background noise, and rowdy teenagers, even the sound of the band faded out, the only things that mattered were the two of them in that room, Sebastian gently cradling the microphone between his long fingers as if he was scared he would break it if he allowed himself to touch it too much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His voice pierced the room, his usual armour falling down; Blaine was truly seeing the boy in front of him, sparking realisations in the shitty high school gym, which felt all shades of wrong. At some point Sebastian finished - he couldn’t even tell you when - the song feeling like it was ephemeral and infinite all at once. As Ryder climbed onto the stage to take over, another slow song, Blaine stood up and made his way over to where Sebastian was standing, hands in his pockets in the center of the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Taylor Swift, huh? I was wondering why you didn’t tell me what solo you were singing,” he teased as he stood in front of him, rocking back and forth on his ankles. Sebastian rolled his eyes and snaked his arms around Blaine’s waist, dragging him in so their chests were flush against one another. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I was going to go with ‘La Vie En Rose’, but then I remembered that most of the people here can barely manage English, so making them listen to French may make them cry.”  Blaine chuckled and wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s shoulders, mimicking the light swaying the other boy was doing. And he was also </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> glad that he didn’t sing in French, as after sectionals he wasn’t sure how much more of that he could take; figuring out his language kink during rehearsals wasn’t his proudest moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, it was probably more of a Sebastian kink than a language one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>They held each other tightly, moving around the other couples on the dancefloor, and Blaine couldn’t help but notice how public this was, how intimate. Sure, in private they were a little hands on, nothing more than cuddling, but they didn’t act like that in front of other people as an unspoken rule. He knew they were still just friends, and if they put their feet up on each other or put their arms round each other's shoulders in private, then that was ok, but being so close and affectionate in front of all their friends just felt… romantic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine dared himself to look up, to find Sebastian’s eyes with his own, half expecting to find the other boy staring around the room, looking at another guy’s ass or some ugly prom dress. He was instead met with those green eyes gazing down at him, wide and soft, twinkling under the lights of the gym as they connected with his own. Blaine took in the golden freckles littered on the bridge of his nose, drifting up his cheekbones which were sculpted and slightly flushed, his lips pink and parted. At some point they stopped swaying, and were just standing in each other’s arms, clutching so tightly as if someone was going to try and tear them apart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in his life and it terrified him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The song faded out, Unique and Kitty had taking over with some pop song that was loud and uptempo, but Blaine and Sebastian stayed still, holding one another. He could feel the soft fabric of the taller boy’s suit under his fingers, probably way too expensive to even risk wearing to a place like this, and not deserving to be crumpled under his hands, but Blaine couldn’t bear to let it go. Almost unconsciously the space between them lessened, their faces so close that they breathed the same air, the fluttering of Sebastian’s eyelashes like a sweeping of a fan. For a moment, Blaine thought about leaning in, finally letting himself kiss the boy that he wanted nothing more than to kiss, but he knew he couldn’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone stumbled into Blaine, slightly knocking the two of them apart, jerking them out of their trance a bit. The guy stammered out a quick apology before running off back to his friends, fear flashing on his face as Sebastian glared down at him hard. The realisation of what Blaine nearly did flooded him, he’d nearly kissed Sebastian, in the middle of a high school dance in Ohio, in front of a gym full of teenagers. Flashes of his last Sadie Hawkins dance overwhelmed him and he took a few steps back, leaving his arms, backing away  slowly.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian frowned, concern and confusion showing on his face as Blaine choked through a deep breath, vision blurring. “Hey, you alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head quickly, feeling as if his bowtie was constricting tighter and tighter, taking another few steps back. “I-I can’t, I’m sorry,” he spat out, before turning around and all but running out of the gym, leaving the blaring lights and the screaming laughter behind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Standing outside in the cool air, Blaine managed to calm himself down, undoing his bowtie and shrugging off his suit jacket, the velvet collecting some dirt as it lay discarded on the ground. He felt embarrassed after fleeing the dance, like some knock off Cinderella who had left his dignity behind rather than a glass slipper. It was a combination of the memories of his last Sadie Hawkins, as well as the honest realisation that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sebastian that made him run, the fear of what he would do if he didn't leave. It wasn’t just a crush anymore, a physical attraction that stemmed from Sebastian just being really hot, and he wondered how long it had been since he’d been feeling this way, since the emotions had been there, as looking back he realised that maybe this had been going on longer than he thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have to stop meeting like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine looked over his shoulder to see Sebastian standing behind him, hands in his pockets. He was still for a moment, but then came and sat down next to where Blaine was on a curb in the parking lot, knees brought up to his chest. “Sorry, I guess me running outside in my feelings is a personality trait of mine I didn’t know about,” Blaine muttered, wrapping his arms around his legs to rest his chin on top of his knees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian sighed out and draped an arm around his shoulders, and shuffled himself closer so that Blaine found himself tucked under him. “You ok? Kinda spooked me in there, Anderson, not gonna lie.” He hated the way that Sebastian sounded a little sad, and he realised that the taller boy probably thought he had done something wrong to warrant this kind of reaction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It wasn’t you, Seb, I promise. Just me. I freaked out a little and didn’t handle it too well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian soothingly rubbed his shoulder, his palm hot against the thin material of Blaine’s  shirt. “Don’t even think about apologising, killer, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just want to make sure you’re ok, and that I didn’t do anything to upset you. I am pretty good at that after all,” he teased, resting his cheek on top of his curls. Blaine smiled at the contact despite himself, body warm with the reassurance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t, you did everything so right. Tonight was perfect, Seb, thanks to you. It couldn’t have gone any better,” he admitted, feeling so safe and comforted wrapped up in his arms, even if they were sat in a dirty parking lot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could think of something to improve it,” Sebastian murmured, pulling back his body slightly and reaching around, raising his free arm up so that it cradled Blaine’s jaw. Their eyes met, Sebastian’s searching his for permission, inching forwards but not closing the distance, and in that moment Blaine didn’t even have to think. He surged forwards, capturing Sebastian’s lips in his own as he fisted his hands into the lapels of his jacket, faces colliding together a little too roughly, but perfectly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d taken Sebastian by surprise, but he effortlessly moved with him, lips sliding together and hands moving, Blaine snaking one of his arms up around his neck and grasping some of the loose hairs at the nape. Sebastian grazed his teeth along his lower lip and Blaine swore he could actually see stars, moaning into his mouth eagerly, their bodies awkwardly twisted as they sat side by side and desperately clutching for more contact. He had to mentally restrain himself from throwing his thigh over Sebastian’s and straddling him right there - it was still very much public and the dance was ending soon, and he didn’t think that any dry humping would be received particularly well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt himself pull back slightly for air, eyes slowly opening as their lips parted. Sebastian’s hair was ruffled a little, some of the gel displaced and his eyes dark, more black than green. His lips were bitten and swollen, almost red, and parted, and Blaine wanted nothing more than to just claim them again. The sound of the gym door opening caught his ear, and some students started to pour out, their laughter ringing through the evening air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was nice,” he heard himself say, and then immediately scrunched his eyes shut because </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh my god</span>
  </em>
  <span> really, that’s what he followed up the best kiss of his life with. Sebastian chuckled warmly, and Blaine felt him swipe his thumb over his lower lip, unconsciously opening up his mouth a little for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that was pretty nice,” Sebastian replied, and Blaine tentatively opened one eye to see his face staring at him with an amused look and lopsided smile. He was aware of the people starting to flood out of the gym now, and the cold air picking up a little, his jacket still discarded on the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, should we move from the parking lot?” he asked, not really wanting to be seen by anyone or have to deal with any conversations right now, the exhaustion from the night settling in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian nodded and pulled himself to his feet, dusting the dirt off of his trousers as he did so, reaching down to help pull Blaine up. “Let me drop you home; I promise I’ll be  a gentleman, and I won’t even sneak up to your room,” he said, as he patted away some of the mud stuck to Blaine’s trousers, even if it ended up being a bit more of a grope. He wasn’t complaining. He also didn’t say that he wouldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>mind</span>
  </em>
  <span> if Sebastian snuck up to his room, as he knew the other boy would go along with it without hesitation, but his parents would probably lock him in his room forever if they found out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, he just nodded, and let himself be led over to Sebastian’s car, climbing inside for the second time that evening. The drive back to his house was similar to the one on the way to the dance, not much talking, but the radio turned up high and the silence comfortable, both singing along to whatever was playing. Blaine had replied to the assortment of texts he had gotten about why they’d left without saying goodbye, feigning tiredness and an early curfew, not getting into details before he even really knew what the situation was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Sebastian pulled up to his house, they both got out the car, and Blaine found himself being walked to his door, feeling like a character in a shitty 80’s rom com but loving every second. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had a really good time tonight,” he said, biting down on his lip a little as they reached the front door, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve. Sebastian took a step forward, lifting his hand to place a few fingers under Blaine’s chin, cradling his face gently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too,” he murmured, eyes flickering down to his lips. Blaine wanted to ask what this all meant, how this affected them, what they were going to do now, but everything would just  ruin the moment, and he didn’t want this night to end anything short of perfect. So he allowed himself to be lightly pulled in for a kiss, much more chaste than their first had been, seeing as his parents were probably only a couple of feet away, but Sebastian still ghosted his bottom lip with his tongue, gently opening up his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Blaine physically slammed him up against the door he pulled back, trying to exercise restraint even though he </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t want to. “Goodnight,” he whispered, letting his hands fall from where they’d been curled up in the other’s jacket, as he backed up to the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian grinned down at him, shoving his hands in his pockets and flashing him a wink. “Goodnight, killer,” he said, before he turned around and headed back to his car, lean figure getting further away as Blaine fumbled for the door handle and let himself into his house, ready to lie in bed and replay the night over and over in his head. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading!! im killer-leo on tumblr</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. pent up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They didn’t really speak about the kiss, and Blaine was never able to find the right moment to bring it up. No one had seen them do it, so in public things remained mostly the same; maybe there was a little more flirting, but people expected that from Sebastian anyway, so it wasn’t exactly shocking.  In private, though, things had changed, light kisses and lingering touches, something that you didn’t do with your friends but also not going any further, and Blaine was frustrated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a weird middle ground, fluttering between labels and meanings and he didn’t understand it, a whole week had passed since Sadie Hawkins and they hadn’t spoken about what they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He knew he was probably being a little uptight, overthinking everything when Sebastian was presumably just going about his everyday life, sneaking a kiss from him if they were alone but not spending every waking moment obsessing over it like Blaine was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mainly it was frustrating as Blaine really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted to do more than that. It had been months since anyone had touched him, and Sebastian was tempting even when Blaine didn’t have all these feelings for him, because the guy was 6’2 and just gorgeous, but now every time they spoke all he wanted to do was to climb onto his lap and attack him with his mouth.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Currently they were in the choir room, and Finn was going on about regionals and funding and something or other, but all Blaine could focus on was the way the neck of Sebastian’s top was riding a little low and his collarbone was exposed, just wanting to go over and lick him. Sam slapped him in the thigh, jerking him out of his staring - which probably was a little intense. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, you’re gonna start drooling in a minute,” he whispered, causing Blaine to blush and Tina to whip round to glare at them. Then, her face suddenly lit up and she shoved her hand in the air, waving it to get Finn’s attention. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can raise the money by doing a calendar! This year’s glee club has by</span>
  <em>
    <span> far</span>
  </em>
  <span> the hottest selection of men we’ve ever had, so why don’t we capitalise on that!” she announced, a wide grin on her face and a kind of scary look in her eye, and Blaine was both impressed with her thinking as well as embarrassed that it was his thirsting over Sebastian that led to it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a general murmur of agreement, the guys generally offering their support and the girls looking a little too happy with the idea. Artie wheeled to the front next to Finn, scanning the room quickly, his eyes silently flickering over the different boys in the room. “So, myself included, there are 7 guys in the club, and I would like to take this opportunity to become a director again, expanding my catalogue from musicals to photography, if that’s ok? And then we have 6 guys, so 2 months each,” he announced, and Blaine felt a pang of guilt at how quickly Artie had dismissed himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure? I don’t mind only doing one month if you want one,” he offered, only to be waived off by Artie immediately, shaking his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure, I’ve always liked being behind a camera more; this is what I want,” he said, and he gave Blaine a grateful smile, but still spoke with a definite tone, confirming that that was what he really meant. Finn congratulated the idea and started speaking about plans for it,  arranging times and places for the photoshoot, placing Tina and Artie in charge. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At the end of the rehearsal, Sam called the guys over, and they arranged a few times to meet in the gym leading up to the shoot, but it was only a week away so it was more of a formality. Blaine was fairly confident in his body - it was never something that he was overly self conscious about - but Tina was definitely right in saying that this year’s crop of guys was the hottest they ever had, so he couldn’t help but slightly doubt how he would look compared to the rest of them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they walked out of the choir room, Sebastian fell into step with him and shrugged on his letterman jacket, which Blaine tried desperately not to look at. He found him hot anyway, but for some reason when he wore that it really did something to him, and he was starting to wonder if he had some weird jock fetish that he didn’t know about. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian brushed their arms together, fingers grazing but not fully touching. “So, half naked calendar of a bunch of minors, you wouldn’t get that at Dalton, would you,” he said, nudging Blaine’s shoulder. He was right, of course; sometimes the things they got away with at McKinley seemed more than a little ridiculous. “Can’t say I’m complaining though.  Not if I get to see you in some tiny shorts and baby oil.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine choked on air, taken aback by the compliment that he really should’ve seen coming, much to Sebastian’s delight, who gave him a shit eating grin and a wink. “Right, and you’ll be the one putting the oil on then, will you?” he fired back out of nowhere, determined for Sebastian to think he wasn’t just some blushing schoolboy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The other boy didn’t seem too phased, but his eyes visibly darkened and he leaned down to speak into Blaine’s ear. “Oh, you can count on it,” Sebastian purred, breath hot on his neck, then he straightened up as if nothing happened, and walked off to his next class, leaving Blaine alone in the corridor and ridiculously turned on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the week leading up to the calendar, he and Sebastian didn’t seem to see much of each other; he had several sport events that kept him busy, and Blaine was trying to take care of Sam for a lot of it. His best friend was one of the most special people he had ever met, and it broke his heart when he couldn’t see that in himself, so Blaine had to focus his energies on him for a while, which Sebastian understood.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the photoshoot rolled around, Sam had gotten more in control over his body and seemed more confident and assured in his sense of self, not just in his physicality; Blaine felt so proud of him that he was able to take those steps, even if he needed a little nudge to get there. The actual photoshoot was surprisingly fun, as he watched Ryder and Jake goof around with some of the props, Artie yelling at Joe to look ‘less religious’ which was probably a little offensive, Sam and Sebastian whipping one another with towels in the corner. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Taking the photos wasn’t as awkward as he thought it would be, all of the guys acting like each other’s hypemen to relieve some of the weirdness of posing in ridiculous costumes in the middle of the locker room. Blaine, however, did not think the whole situation through - when it was Sebastian’s turn to pose for the calendar, it dawned on him that he was about to spend an undetermined amount of time staring at the guy he wanted to pound him into the mattress whilst shirtless and flexing. This was not good. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine felt his entire mouth dry up when Sebastian stepped up to the green screen, dressed ridiculously but also somehow managing to look so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking sexy</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was unfair, and then the bastard had the audacity to </span>
  <em>
    <span>wink</span>
  </em>
  <span> at him, and he felt his knees nearly give way. Blaine was aware that he probably looked ridiculous, and could feel his whole body heating up with a blush, jaw clenched tight, but this was actually painful for him to witness. And Sebastian was just so effortless in front of the camera, easily adapting to whatever nonsense Artie was throwing at him, his lean, toned body not as broad or muscular as some of the other’s, but so much more elegant and shaped. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a dancer’s body, there was no doubt about it, all long limbs and toned muscles, and Blaine was fairly sure he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. And then all too soon it was over, Sebastian needing way less time than the rest of them as he was the only one who could actually pose without looking constipated, and Blaine both really did and didn’t want to know if he had any experience modelling. He was the last one to go, so they started to clean up the equipment and props once Sebastian was done, Blaine having to take a moment before he could move as he was fairly certain his legs had stopped working.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then Sebastian didn’t even have the audacity to get changed properly, throwing on some joggers but forgoing a shirt, instead just clearing away the green screen half naked, which meant Blaine couldn’t even try and help as he was just too damn distracted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually everything was cleared away, though Blaine was really not much help, something which must’ve been fairly obvious from the way Sam and Jake were barely holding in their laughter - he responded by rather aggressively towel whipping them. As people started to leave, Sebastian came over to lean against a locker next to where Blaine was standing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, killer, you done that history essay yet? I haven’t even started it and it’s due tomorrow, do you wanna work on it together?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to go through homework together, working in similar ways and with similar speeds after experiencing Dalton education, so Blaine didn’t really think too much of it, even though he had finished that particular essay the day before. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure, I mean, I’m nearly done with mine, but I can always use an extra pair of eyes,” he replied, finishing putting away his things. “Do you want to come over to mine to work on it?” It was a fairly pointless question, as they always did their homework at Blaine’s; in fact, he’d never once even been in Sebastian’s house, but his parents were often out, so it worked well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally Sebastian slipped on a t-shirt, yanking it on over his head causing his hair to stick up adorably. “Sure thing, I’ll follow you there in my car; I just need to grab my books from my locker.” He shot him a quick smile, and they both went to the exit of the locker room, continuing to amicably chat on the way. Even clothed, Blaine still couldn’t keep his eyes off Sebastian, and he wondered how he was going to make it through being alone in a room with him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine was lying on his bed, propped up against the headboard with a textbook on his lap, staring at the paper but not taking in a single word. Every now and then he would glance up at Sebastian, who was sitting at his desk, scribbling down notes on the paper in front of him, t-shirt stretched across the muscles of his back. All Blaine could imagine was what was underneath, the images from the photoshoot burned into his mind, any hope of actually getting work done completely hopeless at that point.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had only been half an hour, but he was slowly losing his mind. Ever since the locker room he’d been turned on, and it just wasn’t going away, like an itching underneath his skin that burnt. Blaine had been touch starved for so long, and he’d been managing fine with the company of his own hands, but now Sebastian was there, and was an actual willing participant, the desire inside of him was just getting stronger. He was an 18 year old  guy in high school who hadn’t had sex since his ex boyfriend back in September, so he was bound to be getting a little antsy anyway, but when someone as attractive as Sebastian is just always there, and kissing him, and touching him? It was all too much.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian huffed a little at the desk and set his pen down, scrunching up his nose at his work like he had done a few times before. Rather than getting back to work however, he turned in the chair and stood up, sighing again and walking over the bed, flopping down next to him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Victorian England sucks and I don’t care about it. Just a bunch of dying children going up chimneys,” he groaned, bumping their shoulders together. Blaine tried his best to give him a disapproving look to try and make him get back to work, but he also just really didn’t want that to happen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you nearly done with it? I can proofread it for you, if you’d like?” Blaine offered,  feeling his arm burn with the contact between their skin. Sebastian just groaned dramatically again, leaning his head back against the wall, exposing his neck, which was very dangerous to look at. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but I don’t care, I can finish it later; besides, there are certain other things we can do that are way more interesting,” Sebastian smiled, turning his head to look at Blaine with a hungry look in his eye, eyebrows raised. Blaine started to think of reasons not to, knowing that if he started kissing Sebastian he wouldn’t want to stop, but then he realised that that was all he wanted to do, and why couldn't he do what he wanted?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After pausing for a moment, Blaine tossed his textbook aside and then swung his leg over Sebastian’s thighs, straddling him and pushing his hands down on his chest, pinning him to the mattress. The surprise in the other boy’s face was almost comical, shocked by the sudden and very suggestive movement, but it quickly changed into pure lust, eyes darkening and wetting his lips. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine bit back a moan at the sight of the boy beneath him and just surged forwards, crashing his lips to Sebastian’s and pressing their chests together desperate to close the contact. It was heated and passionate, teeth and lips and tongue, scratching at his chest and kissing hard, almost bruising. He felt Sebastian’s hands trail up to his hips, fingers digging in and thrusting his own up so their crotches pressed tightly against one another, Blaine moaning into Sebastian’s mouth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He snaked a hand up the other’s boy’s t-shirt, scratching his nails down the smooth planes of muscle that he had memorised earlier, feeling the dips of his abs and the lines of his hips, desperate for more skin to touch. Blaine detached their lips in order to start pressing wet kisses along Sebastian’s jaw, trailing to his neck and letting his teeth graze along his neck, nipping slightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian ground his hips up in response, moving his hands more solidly to Blaine’s ass to grab him further, squeezing his hands and moving their hips. Blaine moaned against his neck, overcome with the touch, biting down on Sebastian’s earlobe before making his way back to his lips, driving his tongue into his mouth. A hand snaked up his back underneath his polo, so he sat up, yanking off his top and tossing it on the floor, and reaching for the hem of Sebastian’s to do the same. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could sink back down, reconnect their lips, Sebastian put a hand on his waist and flipped them over, until both their legs were straight but he was looming over him, hands pinned down to the mattress and caught under his weight, a feeling which went straight to his groin. Sebastian started pressing hot, wet, kisses down his neck and collarbone, sucking and grazing teeth, swiping over bruised skin with his tongue, claiming his body.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine reached down to fumble with their trousers, quickly unbuttoning Sebastian’s jeans and then his own, releasing some of the strain he felt. He brought up one hand to card through Sebastian’s now completely dishevelled hair, running his fingers through it before tightening slightly, moaning as he felt teeth graze over his nipple, bucking his hips. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian looked up at him through his lashes, lifting his head a little, pupils fully blown out and lips swollen. “Are you sure?” he asked, not specifying anything, but sounding tentative, one hand gripped tight on Blaine’s hip, his thumb settled in the dip of bone and muscle. He didn’t know why hearing Sebastian make sure that he wanted this was so sexy, but it somehow was, so he brought his hand to rest under his chin and dragged it up so their faces were level again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve never wanted anything more,” he admitted, which elicited a deep groan from Sebastian, crashing their lips together. His hands found their way to their trousers, Blaine following suit, tugging down their pants and kicking them off desperately and a little awkwardly, leaving them both in their underwear, now grinding hard with less layers in the way. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine found the taut waistband of Sebastian’s underwear and pulled it away, tugging it down to expose his hard cock, leaking slightly against his leg, heavy in his palm. Sebastian immediately moaned at the contact, rocking his hips forward and clutching at Blaine’s body, hands anywhere and everywhere, grabbing and scratching, his teeth biting down on his lower lip and dragging it between them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sex with Kurt had always been good, if not a little vanilla, and more loving and gentle rather than rough and passionate. Feeling Sebastian though, there was an intense desire there that had bite, lust, a deep set </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>that surged between them that seemed insatiable and innate, and he already craved more when they hadn’t even started. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian’s hand made its way down to Blaine’s underwear, practically ripping them down, wrapping his long fingers around his cock and working them up and down slightly, devastatingly slow. Blaine bucked up, whining at the touch, which earned him a devilish grin from the other boy who began kissing down his chest again, shuffling his body down as he went, alternating between kissing and biting at the skin. He nibbled at the hipbone a bit, before sucking on it hard, probably leaving a mark so deep Blaine wouldn’t be able to lift his hands above waist level for a week out of fear of his skin being exposed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian started pressing kisses on his thighs, his hips, on the patch of hair above his crotch, still dragging his hand up and down his cock slowly, teasing Blaine to the point where he wasn’t sure if he could even feel his body anymore, so overcome with pleasure and heat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, Sebastian,” he moaned, coming out in short pants of breath, desperate and needy in a way he’d never been before, but he’d never been treated like this before either. Sebastian grinned up at him, biting down gently on the inside of his thigh, before moving his head up and licking up the side of his cock, and Blaine thought he could pass out right there and then, vision white. A warm mouth circled the tip, and then sunk all the way down, Sebastian taking him into his mouth with ease and precision, Blaine not wanting to think about how he could do that so easily. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The taller boy moved up and down, one hand at the base twisting, the other clamped down on his thigh, head bobbing up and down between his thighs. Blaine let his fingers rest in Sebastian’s hair, gently on his scalp, and he felt him buck up into it, connecting their eyes and nodding slightly, encouraging him to grip onto his hair. He willingly complied, threading them through the soft strands of hair, gently moving his head up and down with him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling his hot, warm mouth on him was almost too much, the sensation completely overwhelming, and Blaine couldn’t help the soft moans escaping his mouth, which only seemed to spur Sebastian on. HIs hips bucked up, and he was already embarrassingly close, a combination of it being a long time since anyone touched him, and the fact that it was Sebastian. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine moving his hips appeared to just make him go faster, alternating between taking him fully in his mouth or teasing the head, his hand twisting up and down alongside his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck, Sebastian, fuck, I’m close,” he stuttured out, wanting to give him due warning but the feeling was so overwhelming and intense he could barely talk, moaning as the warmth in his body grew, building up quickly. Blaine squeezed his fingers in his hair, a wordless warning in case he was going to pull off, but Sebastian made no such movement and just peered up at him through his lashes, green eyes appearing completely black, cheeks hollowed out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He came immediately, groaning out through his orgasm as he spilled into Sebastian’s mouth, hips stuttering and heart pounding, his vision completely blurred as the other boy stroked him through it, slow and careful. Blaine had never felt anything as intense as that, body humming with pleasure as his head sunk back against the pillow, gradually regaining feeling  as Sebastian released him, pressing light kisses to his thighs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt the other boy crawl up the bed, lying down next to him, Blaine daring to look at his face which was flushed and panting, looking completely ruined. Sebastian’s lips were a deep red, swollen and wet, and his eyes were still fully dark, intensely lustful. He quickly went to his crotch, where his cock was still exposed, but painfully hard and heavy against his thigh, Blaine taking it in his hand and starting to work it up and down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian’s head fell against his shoulder instantly, biting down on his neck and moaning against the skin, his hands desperately stroking over Blaine’s body, breath coming out in short, hot pants. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m already so close for you, baby, so close,” Sebastian babbled, speaking so quietly and breathily Blaine could barely understand him, and he wasn’t sure that he even knew what he was saying himself. “You looked so fucking good when I was blowing you, so fucking beautiful, so ruined.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine worked his hand faster, feeling Sebastian’s arm grip hard on his bicep in a silent warning, before biting on his neck hard and spilling out into his hand, hips bucking and hands bruising. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They lay there for a moment, both still riding it out, bodies pressed tightly against one another and skin sticky. Blaine let out a deep breath, regaining feeling and fighting off his post orgasm drowsiness, slightly wiggling up the bed. Sebastian made a disgruntled noise next to him, but sat up anyway, eyes half lidded and a lazy smile on his face as he looked at Blaine, pressing a kiss onto his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked down to their crotches and Blaine’s hands and scrunched up his nose a bit, frowning down between them. “You got a shirt or something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not going to wipe this up with my polo, Sebastian, Jesus,” Blaine chuckled, thinking about walking to the bathroom when Sebastian just turned around and grabbed his own t-shirt, starting to clean up the mess between them lazily. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope you’re not expecting to borrow one of my tops to wear home, Smythe,” he teased when Sebastian finished up, tossing his now very ruined t-shirt onto the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no, I was just going to walk out of your house shirtless, give all the neighbors a good show,” Sebastian fired back, pulling up his underwear and then slightly rolling on top of Blaine, kissing up his jaw and face, lightly peppering his cheekbones. “Since you were so clearly enjoying it at the school earlier.” He gave Blaine such a shit eating grin he couldn’t help but lightly smack him in the arm, trying not to blush. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” he groaned, biting his cheek to not smile and give Sebastian the satisfaction that he was right. Begrudgingly, Blaine pulled himself up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, grabbing his clothes to put back on. His parents were out, but it was still only early evening so remaining naked in bed didn’t seem like the best option as they would be home soon enough. Walking stiffly over to his dresser, he pulled out the most oversized t-shirt he owned, which would still probably be too small, and tossed it over to Sebastian, who was tugging on his own jeans. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian caught it and lifted it up to his body, raising a single eyebrow down at it. “Good thing crop tops are coming back into fashion, I guess,” he drawled, ignoring the finger that Blaine shot him. He pulled on the top - which fit him </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span> - and walked over to Blaine, stopping in front of him and lightly taking his hands in his own.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to go, but I don’t want you to think I’m blowing you off right after we got off, ‘cos I do think more of you than that,” Sebastian said softly, giving him a small and genuine smile. “I… I’m not quite ready to talk about feelings, or go through all that labels shit, but I promise you I like you, Blaine, and I’m not sleeping with anyone else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The admission that they had something, and that there was a situation to talk about, flooded Blaine with warmth - he knew that Sebastian struggled with certain intimacy issues, they’d never spoken about it, but he could tell from the way he spoke (and didn’t speak) about his family that things like this didn’t come easily to him. But this was something, and he liked Sebastian too much to let him slip through his fingers over something like labels, and he would take him in any way that he could. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ok, I understand, Seb. We can keep everything being closed doors if that’s what you need,” Blaine said, squeezing his hands gently. It wasn’t really his style, he was known for being a romantic, but sometimes things were worth it, he reckoned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian gave him a smile, looking a little relieved and a little guilty, but Blaine knew he’d never even really slept with the same guy twice, so this was a bigger step than he was willing to admit. “I don’t want to keep you behind closed doors, I mean come on, Blaine, you’re the most fucking special guy I’ve ever met.” He ran his hand through his hair and sighed out, rocking back on his heels a bit. “We don’t have to keep this private, I’m not ashamed of you, B. Just - maybe we can not label things, not put pressure on ourselves.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine was honestly, a little confused, but he knew how hard this was for Sebastian, so he reckoned they could just go at his pace. And frankly, after everything with Kurt, he wanted something easy, free - his heart was broken in so many places that Sebastian was just starting to fix, so he couldn’t risk anything happening to that. “Ok, sounds good to me,” he whispered, leaning up on his toes to lightly press their lips together.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian hummed against his mouth a little, before they pulled back and smiled. He went to start putting his things away, Blaine realising that he really had not done his history essay, and had given up after about 4 lines. Sebastian shoved it all in his bag, checking round the room to see if he left anything, and Blaine spotted the letterman by the chair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t forget your jacket,” he reminded, going over to pick it up. Sebastian hummed and stared down at it, head tilted to the side. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, I’m good, I’ll leave it here for now,” he said cheerfully, flashing Blaine a quick wink, leaning forwards to chastely kiss him and then made for the door. “See you tomorrow, killer.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And with that he walked out of Blaine’s house, leaving him standing clutching a letterman jacket, hickies on his neck, and a warmth spreading through his heart. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next week, Blaine ended up having Sebastian over most afternoons after school and staying until early evening - he was fortunate that his parents were usually out, meaning they often had a few hours alone to themselves which were definitely not spent doing homework. After just seven days Blaine thought he could probably map out every inch of Sebastian’s body; every small scar, beauty spot, or freckle that covered him, memorised the way he tasted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian had said they didn’t have to keep it private, but honestly, Blaine was still a little confused by what that meant, and he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. They hung out at school a lot, and sometimes would put their arms around each other, tease flirtatiously, and Sebastian would smack him on the ass occasionally, but it wasn’t like they were kissing or holding hands. It was confusing, and he didn’t even know how to tell any of his friends, so he just… didn’t. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was so scared that if he took things too far, tried to make it too real, that Sebastian would pull away; so instead Blaine just played it safe, letting his eyes linger but not too much. The damn letterman jacket was still in his room, and he’d lasted a whole 30 minutes before he’d tried it on. It was comically large on him, the sleeves over his hands and the bottom of it covering his ass, but it smelled of Sebastian, and it made him feel so warm and comforted that he found himself wearing it every day, praying that no one would ever find out as he didn’t think he could take the embarrassment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After the last time they had gotten together, both of them had had fairly exhausting days at school, so they were more passionate and intense than ever before, Sebastian pounding him into the mattress and moaning in his ear, both of them marking one another’s bodies all over, Blaine finding himself littered with hickies, which was equal parts hot as it was annoying. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The following day, he made sure to wear a high neck polo, buttoned all the way up, tucked rigidly into his pants with a very tight belt, no bruised skin on show and no sign of any sexual activity that may have happened. He and Sebastian had been texting, unable to see each other at school yet, but they had glee rehearsals that afternoon, and Blaine would be lying if he didn’t say he’d been itching to see the other boy all day. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d arrived a bit early, already sat in a cold plastic chair when most people came in, Sam jumping into a seat next to him, launching into a conversation and rambling at him about… True Jackson VP? Blaine had to start paying more attention to him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finn and Miss Pilsbury walked into the choir room, because she was apparently involved in the glee club now, and started talking about their drive and dedication to winning, and how they all needed to make sure they were doing all they could. Blaine was more busy scanning the room for Sebastian, but before he could text him and ask where he was, the boy in question walked through the door, hands in pockets. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry I’m late, my French teacher wouldn’t stop drooling over me again,” he said to Finn, flashing him a slight look of apology but not looking too bothered. Blaine smiled when he saw him, and then his eyes trailed down to his neck and he nearly choked on his own tongue, feeling his whole body start to blush. Unlike him, Sebastian clearly had no problem with showing off any markings from their time together, as 2 large hickies were evident on his skin, and god knows how many more there were. Blaine honestly hadn’t even realised he’d done that, as it wasn’t really his style; but then again, all of the previous evening hadn’t really been his style. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian sat in the chair next to him, scooting it a little closer as he sat, and he dropped one arm around the back of Blaine’s seat, staring nonchalantly at Finn who was still rambling on. Blaine could feel Tina’s eyes on him, as well as a muffled laughter from Kitty, but he just glanced over at Sebastian who gave him a small smile and squeezed his shoulder, and that was all he needed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He turned his attention back to Miss Pilsbury, finally registering what she was saying. “Uh, guys can be divas too?” he said, leaning forwards to try and insert himself into the  conversation. Honestly, some of history’s biggest divas were men, and he sure as hell could </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than keep up with the girls! Somehow, it turned into a full blown performance, which was fun to blow off a little steam, even if his nose started to feel a little stuffy afterwards. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After their whole ‘diva’ number, Sebastian had to go to soccer practice, cornering him in the back of the auditorium and kissing him before he left, promising to come and see him afterwards, however. Before Blaine could go to the library and try and get some homework done however, he found himself backed up against the lockers by a very angry looking friend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“First of all, Blaine, I noticed you were getting sick, so here’s a remedy kit to help you get better,” Tina announced, thrusting a plastic box at him. He tried to open his mouth to  say thank you but she silenced him with a swift hand gesture. “Second, what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going on between you and Sebastian? Don’t try and lie to me, I can see something’s going on, and it is very much not your style.” She put her hands on her hips and glared, eyebrows raised and lips pursed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine sighed and gripped the box she gave him in his hands, trying not to be too intimidated. “Thanks for this, TT, you’re a lifesaver. And - we’re kind of seeing each other, I guess? We both like each other, and there’s kissing and stuff, and we’re kind of intimate, but we’re not dating or anything,” he tried to explain, frowning as he spoke as he realised he really didn’t have any idea what he was saying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>“That makes absolutely no sense,” Tina replied in a deadpan voice, looking at him as if he had lost his mind. “Blainey Days, you</span> <span>love</span> <span>dating and </span><em><span>romance</span></em><span>, not getting an STD in a supply closet!</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, Sebastian doesn’t have an STD, Tina, don’t be ridiculous,” he sputtered, eyes widening at her. “And it’s not like it’s some friends with benefits situation, there are actual feelings involved.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes at him and scoffed, arms crossed over her chest and looking thoroughly unimpressed. “So how is this situation fair for you? He gets to fuck you and cuddle you, but never have to go on dates or show genuine affection? With no labels, so he can do what he wants? I mean come on, Blaine, how is that going to work? Can you kiss him in public? Go for dinner together? Have you thought this through at all?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine really wanted to argue with her, demand that she was just wrong and hyper critical of Sebastian like she always was, and just too pessimistic. But annoyingly, Tina’s words set in, and he just found himself opening and closing his mouth, mind coming up blank.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, T, it’s my life, ok, and it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> decision to make. Just, let me deal with this,” he said eventually, smoothing out his creaseless top a few times before walking away, one hand holding the box she’d given him and the other gripping his satchel so tightly his knuckles were white. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He made up some excuse to not see Sebastian later, instead turning up for the next rehearsal as Freddie Mercury, absolutely killing his performance and then feeling like actual death after it. The rest of the day dragged on as his head felt heavier and heavier, until he eventually gave up and just went home, not even bothering to get signed out by the school nurse. He passed out on his bed pretty much as soon as he got in, not even sure how long he was asleep for, as when he woke up it was already part of the way  through the next school day. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His mom had come up and given him water and paracetamol, stroking his forehead and fluffing his pillows, firmly telling him to tell her if he needed anything at all, but instructing him to stay in bed until he was better. Blaine huffed at that, wanting to get back up and ready to go as soon as he could, hating being still and not being able to work on anything, especially missing out on things for glee club. His phone was pretty much abandoned next to him, as he saw it flash up with different texts, but he only replied to Sam and Nick, as he was still annoyed at Tina for making sense, and that led to a whole debacle with Sebastian that he just didn’t want to deal with right now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At some point he had drifted back to sleep, but the sound of his door creaking open stirred him;  he slightly regained consciousness but his head was still spinning slightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“B? Your mom let me in,” he heard from the doorway, thinking he must still be half asleep because that sounded an awful lot like Sebastian. Blaine dragged his eyes open as best as he could, sitting up a little but mainly just wiggling around in the bed trying to make his limbs move. There was a chuckle from the corner and the figure moved over to perch on the side of his bed, a hand reaching out and covering his own,  thumb rubbing circles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You scared me, killer, kinda disappeared off the face of the earth for a bit.” And Blaine wasn’t losing his mind, because it was Sebastian who was in his room, staring down at him nibbling his lip, and Blaine realised he actually looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>concerned</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he croaked out, voice not used for a while so a little sore. “It hit me in the face a bit, I’ve been out of it for a while.” Sebastian chuckled and squeezed his hand, pausing for a second and then kicking off his shoes, swinging his legs over so he was laying next to Blaine on the bed. “Seb, I’m all gross, you don’t have to,” he whined, really not feeling like getting blamed for anyone else coming down with whatever he had. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian just scoffed and threw his arm over Blaine’s shoulders, tugging him into his chest and holding him close despite any complaints. “Please, my immune system is a lot better than yours, I’m practically invincible. Besides, you look way too adorable and like a kicked puppy for me to not do this; it would practically be animal cruelty to leave you alone.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine let himself be held, unable to resist throwing his own arm around Sebastian’s waist and nuzzling his head in further, nose completely blocked but still able to smell that indescribable scent that was so purely Sebastian.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, even all gross and snotty you still manage to be pretty irresistible, Anderson,” he heard the taller boy say, stroking up and down his arm and speaking into his curls. “I had a pretty interesting conversation with Tina yesterday, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At that Blaine felt himself tense up, dreading where this was going. Had Sebastian come here to tell him that it was all too much, that he was going back off because he couldn’t give Blaine what he wanted? His brain was entirely too tired and sick to be thinking that hard, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to try and recompose himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She is very much under the impression that I’m stringing you along and using you for your body, you know? She also described your body in </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> too much detail, but I let that slide considering she was yelling at me in the middle of the corridor for being a slut,” Sebastian chuckled, rubbing a circle on his arm with his thumb.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry… I didn’t ask her to say or do anything, she yelled at me, too, if that makes you feel better,” Blaine offered weakly, voice a little muffled as he spoke into Sebastian’s chest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“B, don’t apologise; you’re literally lying incapacitated in bed. And you may not deserve to be yelled at, but I guess I kinda do,” Sebastian sighed. He ran his fingers through Blaine’s curls, occasionally scraping against his skull, playing with strands of the hair and tugging on them. “Asking you to just go along with what I wanted, well - that was just dumb of me, and not fair on you. I think you can probably gather that feelings and relationships don’t come easy to me, but that doesn’t mean you should suffer for it, ‘cos damn it, I really fucking like you, Blaine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His voice cracked a little as he spoke, raw and vulnerable in a way that meant he could only be telling the truth. Blaine leaned his head up so his chin was propped against Sebastian’s shoulder and he could see his face. “I get it, and I get this is all new for you; I just want us to be on the same page, that’s all, Seb.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian gave him a small smile and pressed a chaste kiss onto his forehead. “How about this: why don’t you come with me to Schuester’s wedding, as my date? Everyone can know we’re going together, it won’t be a secret or anything, but it’s a step in the right direction?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His question made Blaine’s head spin, feeling almost giddy with excitement at that prospect, still slightly surprised at the word ‘date’ coming out of Sebastian’s mouth. “I’d love that” he admitted, pressing his lips against the other boy’s shoulder, to kiss as well as to hide his face which was steadily getting redder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian brought up a hand to cup Blaine’s jaw, thumb swiping across the cheekbone. “This all kind of terrifies me, killer, but you’re worth every second of it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaine let those words in as he slowly faded back to sleep, tightening his arms around Sebastian and allowing himself to drift off, heart happy.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so much for reading! im killer-leo on tumblr</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. enchanted to meet you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>last chapter!! thank you so much to everyone who's read this, and commented, and left kudos, and everything!! another big shoutout to quinn (himbosamevans) who bullied me to finish and gave me the best comments and advice i could ask for, our baby is now complete :)</p><p>i can't believe im basically outing myself as a swiftie through this, please no judgement going forward</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“We’re going to be late if you keep doing that,” Blaine moaned, tilting his head back to allow Sebastian more access to his neck, clutching at his arms desperately. Sebastian chuckled and pressed their bodies closer together, teeth grazing underneath his ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not exactly doing much to stop me, Anderson,” he replied, snaking a hand up the back of Blaine’s suit jacket and dragging it down to cup his ass, pushing him further  against the outside of the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had made it to the church a bit early, and Sebastian parked in the far corner of the lot so they could kill a little time before going in, which had ended up with Blaine pinned against the passenger side door, the two of them making out very publicly. Sebastian had just argued that it was a political statement for two gay guys to be kissing outside a church, but Blaine knew that he was just more nervous than he was letting on and was looking for a way to distract himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No one had been too surprised when they had found out Blaine and Sebastian were going to the wedding together, the two of them getting a little more tactile in their relationship as time went on. Still no labels, nothing official, but Blaine was happy taking things slow, going at their own pace - neither one of them were sleeping with anyone else, and that’s what mattered. When Sebastian was ready  to take things to the next step, he would follow gladly, but he didn’t need to push anything yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t told Kurt, but given the New Directions gossip mill he was certain that everyone in New York already knew; Santana and Sebastian had definitely been texting, at least. But Blaine figured that it wasn’t his business, and he didn’t need to run his decisions or choices by his ex anymore, and he should just start doing things for himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as Sebastian slotted one of his leg’s between Blaine’s, kissing up his jaw teasingly, a loud groan came from behind them followed by the clacking of heels on tarmac. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys seriously? We’re outside a church - can you just keep it in your pants for another few hours?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine peeked over Sebastian’s shoulder to see Tina glaring in their direction, arms crossed and looking very disapprovingly at the two of them. He gave Sebastian’s chest a light shove to separate them, ignoring the whine in protest, and smoothed down his suit, trying to get rid of any evidence he’d just been pinned to a car. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, TT, getting rid of some pre-wedding nerves,” Blaine said, walking over to give her a light kiss on the cheek, Sebastian just rolling his eyes and fixing his hair in the reflection of the glass. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tina scoffed and shook her head, setting off to the church with them in tow. “Right, getting rid of your hormones, more like; you know, I wish you two would just make out in private like you used to pretend not  to do.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The past week since Blaine’s flu recovery they had been kissing more, but no one in the New Directions was really bothered, as by then they all cared about Sebastian (whether he liked it or not), and as a show choir they all sort of switched partners all the time anyway. Blaine had told most of them that they were seeing each other, nothing official but still going to the wedding as dates, and everyone had just taken it in their stride. He’d had a longer conversation with Sam, who was a little confused, but in the end he would always be supportive and want what’s best for Blaine, who could never be more grateful for his best friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of them headed to the church, Sebastian reaching down to intertwine his and Blaine’s fingers as they approached with a seemingly nonchalant expression on his face, but Blaine knew him better than that, and knew the physical touch was a way of comforting and calming the both of them. It wasn’t as if Sebastian was his plus one, as he’d received an invite just as Blaine had, he was a part of the New Directions after all, but he knew that the other boy still felt a little out of place sometimes, especially at events with the alumni who didn’t have the same opinion of him as the current members did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine squeezed his hand slightly, leaning into his arm as they made their way into the church, Tina pointing out Sam and Brittney in the pews and walking towards them. Next to him, Sebastian winked at Santana as they went past, her flashing her teeth in response, a brief happiness on her face to see him before she resumed glaring daggers at Sam. At least she had Quinn next to her, looking as equally unhappy to be there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat down next to the blonde couple, Sebastian automatically settling his arm around Blaine’s shoulders, and he wondered when that became second nature to them. Still, he leaned into his side and started amicably chatting to Sam, glancing round the church at the same time to try and assess who was there. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kurt and Rachel entering the back of the church, and walking to sit at one of the pews several rows behind where he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Briefly, his eyes met Kurt and he felt himself instantly tense up, flashing a quick, slightly pained smile before turning back around, jaw clenched. Sebastian looked down at him, brow furrowed a little.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Everything ok, killer?” he asked, tightening his arm a bit. “Don’t worry, if one of us is going to burst into flames it’s gonna be me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine let himself smile and nudged his knee into Sebastian’s leg playfully. “Nothing, it’s alright, don’t worry. And if you burst into flames, please do it at a respectable distance - this suit was really expensive.” Sebastian just snorted a little too loudly and swatted his arm, rolling his eyes at the people who turned to glare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Mercedes started singing and the back of the church opened, and everything got really weird.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I honestly don’t know why you’re so surprised, Anderson, I've been at McKinley 6 months and this fits in exactly with everything else that happens here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sitting at a table in the reception, Blaine could barely remember getting there or leaving the church, but he still found himself incredibly amused with how unshocked Sebastian was about the entire situation. They had immediately sat at a table with Sam, Brittney, Marley, and Jake, next to a table where Artie, Tina and Mike were currently sat, discussing what had just happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marley and Sam had said how sorry they felt for both Mr Schue and Miss Pilsbury, to which Sebastian and Jake had very little sympathy, the former then just going on about how tacky all the decorations were, exclaiming that the room looked like a valentines themed pride float had thrown up all over it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine was enjoying sitting talking to Marley and Jake when Sebastian leaned over and kissed him on the cheekbone, saying that he was going to go and harass Santana at the bar, which Blaine was well aware meant he missed his friend and wanted to go speak to her under the guise of throwing insults. He could feel himself staring adoringly at the two of them, leaning against the bar, mouths moving quickly, probably firing off some rude comments mixed in with compliments during a conversation that would make most people blush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian just looked so effortlessly gorgeous, and Blaine couldn’t drag his eyes away, drinking in the sight of him in a perfectly tailored suit, looking entirely too expensive and sophisticated for the rest of the room, despite being one of the youngest there. He also noticed he was drinking whisky, and Blaine really couldn’t be surprised he’d used a fake ID and gotten away with it; he looked over 21 anyway, and he tended to be just the right amount of charming for it not to matter too much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mike was just in the middle of telling him about his current dance training when somebody approached them, coughing slightly to announce his presence and cut into the conversation. Blaine looked up, meeting Kurt’s eyes; he was staring down at him, looking a lot simpler than he usually did in a plain black tux, even wearing a bow tie when Blaine himself wasn’t. Not that he wore them anymore, not really. Not since Sebastian. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Blaine, could I talk to you for a bit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice sounded a little tentative, clearly aware of the audience and the implications that would be drawn from him asking, but Blaine had known this was inevitable. The fact that he and Kurt had left things on such an ambiguous and confusing note was just going to cause problems later on, ones that would fester into something worse, so trying to have a mature conversation was probably for the best. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, yeah, ok,” Blaine replied, shooting Kurt a small smile. He stood up and straightened his jacket, casting his eyes over to Sebastian who was still deep in conversation with Santana, Quinn now having joined them as well, wanting to meet his eyes but not being able to, instead having to just nod at Kurt and follow him as he walked to the side of the room, away from prying ears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, Sebastian,” Kurt mused, standing pretty rigidly by the wall and face firm, saying Sebastian’s name as if it was poisonous. On one level, Blaine didn’t blame him, as Kurt didn’t know him the way Blaine did, and his view of him was a  little twisted by bias. But, it was his life, and Kurt was no longer his boyfriend, so his thoughts on the matter didn’t really count anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded and gave a shy smile, hands tucked in his pockets and leaning back on his heels. “Yeah, it’s nothing official, but it’s going somewhere,” Blaine replied, figuring that was the best way to describe their situation - something which Kurt didn’t look too pleased by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you’re not even really together? That’s not your style, Blaine.” Kurt sounded tense, sighing at him as if disappointed by his actions, a disapproving look on his face. “Look, I get it, things with us ended, and he was there - a reminder of Dalton, attractive, easy going, it all makes sense. But you can’t actually think there’s anything more there? I mean it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sebastian,</span>
  </em>
  <span> for god’s sake! He wouldn’t know a relationship if it smacked him across his smug face!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine frowned, hating the way that everyone wanted to comment on his life when no one had the right to, especially not Kurt, not anymore. “He’s not just that; he’s been there for me more than anyone else this whole year, someone who I could trust and rely on, talk to and feel like they’re listening! He’s not just a rebound, or a fling to me; this is something real, and I don’t think it’s your place to say anything different, Kurt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you can’t think it’s the same for him, can you? Does he even know what monogamy means, even with all that private school education!” Kurt exclaimed, voice getting a little louder now as his frustration was clearly building. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, he hasn’t slept with anyone since we started sleeping together, so he clearly can grasp the concept,” Blaine hissed back trying to lower the volume of their conversation, not wanting it to get out of hand. “We care about each other, and we aren’t rushing into labels, but it’s just the two of us. If you’re just here to chastise me, I don’t want to hear it. You’re just wasting my time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kurt sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his shoulders deflating a little. “I still care about you, Blaine, and I just want you to be happy. And I struggle to see you being happy with him; he’s just going to hurt you, and I don’t want to have to pick up the pieces.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At his words Blaine felt himself stiffen, uncomfortable with what Kurt was suggesting - did he think that if things went sour with Sebastian, he would just go running back to him? “If you want me to be happy, then look at me. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> happy, Kurt, and even if things do go wrong, even if he hurts me, or if I hurt </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then it won’t be your problem and I won’t be coming to you about it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to return to my date.” He walked off before Kurt could reply, not wanting to drag out the conversation any longer, as he could tell it was just going nowhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine knows that he wants to be able to be friends with Kurt again, but he also isn’t naive enough to think that Kurt and Sebastian will ever really see eye to eye, the two of them just incompatible in so many ways, and each other’s sore spots. And right now, he cared more about Sebastian than he did Kurt, so his ex’s feelings towards the matter simply didn’t carry any weight or significance to his own choices. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He scanned the room for his date, not seeing him at the bar, face softening when he looked to the dance floor where Sebastian and Marley were dancing along to Mercedes singing, the pair of them smiling and swaying together. Blaine headed over, lightly tapping Marley on the shoulder. “Hey, do you mind if I cut in?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled at him and dropped Sebastian’s hands, ignoring his faux offended gasp. “Of course not, he’s all yours.” He swooped in to where she had been, but wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s neck instead, pressing them closer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, the two of you are the absolute cutest,” he teased, heart fluttering at the feeling of the other boy’s arms circling his waist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m cute with everyone, Anderson, you don’t need to look so surprised,” Sebastian said back, eyes crinkling as he smiled. “I dread to ask, but was everything ok with Hummel? I saw the two of you talking and you didn’t exactly look happy. Well, actually, Lopez pointed out the two of you talking to try and make me cause drama but I simply am not drunk enough for that.” Blaine rolled his eyes, playing with some loose hairs at the nape of his neck, aware that Sebastian wouldn’t cause a scene here, not anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was fine. He wasn’t thrilled about you, which we kind of expected, but honestly I don’t care what he has to say; it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged, leaning his head into Sebastian’s chest a little, temple on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was it just me, or us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine looked up, scrunching his nose at Sebastian’s expression, as he was looking at the wall and jaw slightly clenched. “What do you mean? Are they not kinda the same thing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other boy sighed and let his eyes close, tugging Blaine closer to his chest and resting his cheek against his curls. “I just meant, is it that he doesn’t like </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> or he doesn’t like how we’re doing things? Because he obviously hates me, I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> clear to anyone with eyes, but is it that he has a problem with how we’re defining us - or I guess, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> defining us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine paused. At first, he was trying to understand what exactly Sebastian meant, the words sort of falling out of his mouth as if saying them was the last thing he wanted to do, but just couldn’t help himself. The slightly raw edge to his voice didn’t go unnoticed however, and Blaine knew that even just saying that must’ve been like swallowing razors for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kurt</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it doesn’t matter, ok? What he thinks about us means nothing to me,” Blaine replied, tilting his head up and bringing one hand round to rest on Sebastian’s cheek, thumb stroking. He got a rigid nod in reply, followed by a chaste kiss. Kitty and Marley had  taken over on stage, some upbeat pop song, the dance floor becoming a lot more animated all of a sudden.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to get another drink,” Sebastian announced, pecking him on the cheek and then swiftly marching off to the bar, dragging Santana along by the elbow when he walked past her. Blaine could tell something was wrong, but this was possibly the worst place to try and press it further, so instead he let himself be pulled in by Sam and Tina, the three of them starting to dance along goofily to the music, ignoring any strange looks they got.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Several members of the New Directions got up to sing throughout the night, Blaine spending the majority of his time on the dancefloor with the current glee club, letting Sebastian sit with Santana, as the two of them hadn’t seen one another since Sectionals. Although, her and Quinn seemed to be getting closer as time went on, so he wasn’t sure how much longer Sebastian was actually going to be involved in that conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Up on the stage Rachel had just finished, and she loudly started talking into the microphone, pretending she wasn’t eye fucking Finn the whole time. “Ok, for our next song let’s have up our two favourite gays! They may not be dating but they can still sing a duet together, so come on up Kurt and Blaine!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ok, she was definitely cut off.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine flashed her a look and waved his hands in a very clear ‘no’ signal, but then people started clapping, and Kurt was heading up to the stage, and everyone was turning to look at him expectantly, and Blaine could never seem to turn down an audience, so he was heading up as well. Once in front of the microphone, he didn’t look Kurt in the eye, simply nodded when a song suggestion was whispered by his ear, and stared at Sebastian, sitting by the bar but alone now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other boy gave him a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, but it wasn’t really angry or bitter, and Blaine knew that they were both aware how little he wanted to be on that stage, especially with the person next to him. Still, the music started, and the singing followed, and Blaine found himself slotting into familiar moves and harmonies, some of it all muscle memory by now. Singing with Kurt was always fun, they had good voices together - not as good as his and Sebastian’s, but good. And, for one song, he allowed himself to let go a little and imagine a future where he and Kurt could be friends again; it was nice, comforting even.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When it ended he gave a small bow and a nod at Kurt, not willing to have any physical contact on the stage; not in front of the show choir crowd who read into every detail way too much. He jumped off the stage and headed over to the bar, smiling at his friends giving him a pat on the back for his performance. Sebastian looked up at him when he came over, his eyes a little glassier and face a little more flushed than he remembered it being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey you, how you doing?” Blaine asked tentatively, wrapping an arm around the other boy’s shoulders as he sat on a stool.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian leaned into his touch, humming appreciatively, a very outward display of affection that was a clear indicator of his lack of sobriety. “M’good, you sang very nice up there, killer. Shame about that other guy, but I tried to just block him out.” His words were a little slurred and his glass empty, and Blaine suddenly felt very guilty for leaving him unattended for so long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Santana walked past with her arm around Quinn, but leaned in to whisper in Blaine’s ear before stumbling off, “He’s been drinking and whining a lot, hobbit, I don’t think he’s gonna last much longer.” She gave him a pointed glare and then was dragged away by Quinn, the two of them looking a lot closer than Blaine ever remembered them being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian had his eyes closed and was now fully resting against him, the slight suggestion of sadness in his face unavoidable, which was simply heartbreaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we get out of here, huh? I’ll drive you home,” Blaine said soothingly as he rubbed a hand up and down the expensive suit fabric. Sebastian frowned at that, turning his head to stare at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? You’re having fun, don’t let me ruin your night,” he said defensively, although his face was just crumpled enough that it didn’t come out as angry, just a little upset. “Not any more than I’ve ruined other stuff, anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ok it was definitely time for them to go, if Sebastian was going to start talking like that, he was clearly not in the right mindset to be at this wedding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine sighed and hooked an arm around his waist dragging him up, until they were both on two feet and the swaying was very minimal. Sebastian didn’t really look in the mood to complain so he just wrapped his arms around Blaine, face nuzzling into his hair which was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of character for him; the physical contact he liked in public was usually a bit more crude and less affectionate. There wasn’t really time to say goodbye to anyone, as leaving Sebastian alone just seemed like a terrible idea, but it was getting fairly late so he wasn’t really too worried about them heading off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He managed to get them outside with minimal difficulty - Sebastian was a lot taller than him but surprisingly compliant, and Blaine was a lot stronger than he looked, and there was no way he was loosening his grip. They reached the car and he hauled them both in, letting Sebastian rest his head on the window and close his eyes, an unreadable look on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Blaine started the engine and began to drive, he couldn’t stop staring over at the other boy; it was so strange to see him so vulnerable and confused, not the charismatic, confident guy he was used to. The wedding (or the reception, he really should say) had started so well, but it had slowly deteriorated as time went on, the situation slipping from his control. Ever since he had spoken to Kurt, Sebastian had kind of detached himself, drinking and isolating, when Blaine didn’t even really know why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked so young, resting against the window, suit disheveled and eyes closed, and Blaine was reminded of how much he had actually been through, and how hard the last year must’ve been for him. Sebastian was a bit of an enigma, but Blaine was finally starting to understand him, or really, he was being </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to understand him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they had left the grounds of the reception, Blaine headed for Sebastian’s house, having stopped outside of it before to drop off/pick him up, although he had never been in. That would definitely change this evening, as there was no way he was letting him in the house alone; he’d probably make it five steps in the door before giving him and just sleeping against the bannister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, Sebastian didn’t live too far from the venue, so the drive was short as well as silent, only the sounds of breathing and Blaine’s fingers tapping on the steering wheel filling the car. He took a few wrong turns, not entirely confident of the way, but managed to pull up outside Sebastian’s house after a reasonable amount of time, realising that Sebastian’s dad must be out from the absence of his car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine’s family had money - he had gone to Dalton - but it wasn’t like Sebastian’s family, who were in an entirely different league of wealth to him. His house still made Blaine raise his eyebrows a little; the size of it seemed ridiculous for the two people that lived there, but he knew Sebastian himself hated it, so didn’t really bring it up. He climbed out the car and walked round to the passenger side, helping the other boy out as well, who stumbled a little but made it out without falling flat on his ass, at least. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to take you inside, ok?” Blaine said, locking his car and grabbing Sebastian’s hand, walking them up to the front door and taking the house keys from his fumbling hands to unlock the door. The inside of the house was exactly as he imagined it - ridiculously expensive and large, but slightly cold and unwelcoming, not like the warmth and domesticity of his own home. No wonder Sebastian didn’t like it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you direct me to your room? I think I’ll get a bit lost otherwise,” he chuckled, as Sebastian just nodded and hummed, eyes distant and mouth twisted into something uncertain, as if he was trying to stop any words coming out. Blaine found himself led up a very grand staircase, down a long corridor and then into a bedroom, which was sparsely decorated and somewhat messy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian stumbled over to the bed, half falling onto it and kicking off his shoes across the room, which collided with the dresser with the loudest noise Blaine had heard since they had left the reception. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then attempted to strip off his suit jacket, finding difficulty in figuring out the arms, staring down at them with a face so crumpled up it made Blaine’s heart hurt. Sighing softly, he walked over to the bed and helped pull it off, stopping it from being thrown on the floor and instead folding it gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re too good for me,” Sebastian murmured, head falling down on Blaine’s shoulder, his voice small. “Don’t deserve you, never have, never will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine automatically wrapped his arms around the other boy, bringing him close to his chest. Sebastian was always so self assured and borderline arrogant that the words seemed foreign coming from his mouth, a crack in the mask he so carefully wore. “Don’t say that, Seb, you mean so much to me, you’ve done so much for me,” he soothed, running a hand through his hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not enough, never enough, B. God, you deserve so fucking much, more than I could ever give you,” Sebastian choked out, sounding dangerously close to tears. “I know what people say - what Kurt must’ve said. That you deserve a proper relationship, boyfriends and romance and everything, and that I can’t give you that. And, you know, they’re probably right, I mean, I’ve never dated anyone, never been able to even do anything good before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With every word Blaine could feel Sebastian breaking down a little more, his drunken mind speaking sober insecurities which he must’ve been bottling up for months now. “Seb, you make me happy, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t had a boyfriend before, that doesn’t mean you can never have one? You’re a good person.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian moved to stand up, wobbling on his feet slightly as he slipped under Blaine’s arm, shirt half undone and hair sticking up. “I nearly blinded you, Blaine, and I’ve been kissing you and touching you and having feelings for you and not letting you label us because I'm too scared! How does that make me a good person?” he yelled, voice wavering enough to cut through the anger. “My dad had to send me to public school to try and make me be a good person after what I did junior year, and after I spent the summer in Paris drinking and fucking my way through the city.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the first time that Sebastian had really spoken about the transfer, aside from the small mention of it near Christmas. Although he had clearly grown to begrudgingly care about the school, being forced to move against his will was still a sore subject that he didn’t like to talk about, and he had not mentioned his summer in Paris, ever. Blaine sat on the bed, feeling his eyes water, but not sure what to say, all his words trapped in his throat and inescapable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You make me feel things that I didn’t think people could feel, stuff I used to make fun of people for feeling, but I fuck up everything in my life and, </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I can’t afford to do that to you.” Sebastian’s voice cracked, his shoulders falling and eyes shutting, a look of pure dejection on his face that burned into Blaine’s mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine stood up, taking a few steps towards the other boy and reaching out to cradle his face with one hand, the other settling on his waist, his touch tentative as to not be overwhelming, but stable enough to bring comfort, he hoped. “Maybe I’m not as fragile as you think I am, and maybe I can take care of myself, Sebastian,” he said, thumb stroking along his cheekbone. “But you can’t be afraid of something that will only hurt you if you let it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other boy leaned into his touch, as if exhaustion was catching up to him. “I never  even told you that I was transferring to McKinley until that first day because I thought somehow I’d be able to get out of it, not have to turn up there and do that to myself, you know? I never wanted to fit in, I didn’t even want to wear the stupid letterman jacket because it meant I’d be actually admitting that I went there, that I was part of the school. I only ever wanted to be a part of you, Blaine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was sobering up slightly, but his words were still soft, and a little slurred, and Blaine felt bad about making him go through all of this when he wasn’t fully in his right mind; although, hearing some truths didn’t exactly hurt. Sebastian didn’t handle emotions well, that much was obvious from the previous year when a combination of jealousy and annoyance caused him to lash out with the slushie, alongside his current turmoil over having actual feelings for Blaine. He couldn’t always blame him; his familial upbringing was clearly cold and not supportive, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t learn and grow to become someone capable of feeling, and communicating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not for now though; now he just needed sleep and some serious painkillers for the morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine went up on his toes to press a light kiss to Sebastian’s cheek, before leading him by the hand to the bed and all but pushing him into it. He helped him take off the rest of clothes, folding them gently on a chair until he was just in his underwear and helping him under the covers, the other boy being somewhat compliant, mainly from tiredness. Pressing a light kiss onto his forehead, Blaine went to leave, but felt a hand grip his wrist before he could pull away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please stay?” murmured Sebastian, voice muffled against the pillow and sounding small. Blaine took one look at him, splayed out across his bed with a slightly pained look on his face, but eyes that were almost begging, and he knew he was never going to have the heart to say no to that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” he whispered back, shrugging out of his own clothes to place them on the floor, and then climbing into the bed next to him, not before texting his parents to say he was staying over at Sam’s. As soon as he was in the bed Sebastian wrapped himself around him, pressing his chest against Blaine’s back and entwining their legs, and he felt a kiss pressed into his hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Sebastian mumbled, squeezing a little tighter, and Blaine let their fingers tangle together, slowly drifting off to sleep in the warm embrace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As light started to stream into the room, Blaine cracked open his eyes, taking in the unfamiliar environment he was in, and starting to mildly panic before the memories of the previous night settled in, which was helped by the fact his body was half on top of Sebastian’s, their legs tangled together and arms thrown around one another.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other boy was still passed out, lying on his back and mouth open, looking so peaceful that Blaine couldn’t find it in himself to wake him up, so he just nestled back into his chest, letting his eyes trail over Sebastian’s body, marked with sleep lines. His eyelashes were fanned across his face, fluttering lightly with every breath, delicate and innocent in a way that Sebastian wasn’t, and Blaine knew he could stare at him forever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he adjusted his arm a little where it was slung over Sebastian’s waist, the movement caused the other boy’s face to scrunch a little and one eye to drag itself open unwillingly. Blaine felt a little guilty for waking him up, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t a little pleased. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anderson, were you just watching me sleep?” Sebastian croaked out, voice rough and unused. “Don’t make me regret letting you into my house if you’re gonna start stalking me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine bit the inside of his cheek and just pressed his face closer into Sebastian’s chest to hide his blush, letting the warmth just overwhelm him when the other boy’s arms wrapped around him a little tighter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should try looking less good, then my eyes would be a little better behaved,” he replied mockingly, the words barely audible where they were being spoken into skin. Sebastian just scoffed at him and reached over to check his phone, wincing at the brightness which illuminated his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, shit, it’s gone 11 already - I have the excuse of drinking half the bar last night, but it looks like you’re just lazy, killer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine flicked him in the side, well aware he’d slept in a little later than usual, but honestly lying there with Sebastian had been a comfortable escape that his body had just not wanted to wake up from; it wasn’t helped by the fact that throughout the night he had unconsciously become some needy octopus. He was about to settle back down, run his fingers up and down Sebastian’s arms, begin pressing slow kisses across his chest when he realised what he had actually said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gone 11? Oh god, I’m supposed to be having a family lunch at midday,” Blaine groaned, the memory of his mom texting him back last night telling him to be home early flooding back. He’d kind of fucked that one already. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring the sudden rush of blood to his head Blaine dragged himself up, running a hand through his now completely untamed curls, cracking his back slightly as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, attempting to gather the will to get up. That was decidedly not helped by the fact that Sebastian had reached out and started to trace patterns up and  down his spine, fingers burning into his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or, you could tell them you suddenly feel very ill, and that you need to stay in bed the rest of the day? What a shame that would be,” Sebastian borderline purred, stretching over the mattress to press a kiss at the base of Blaine’s spine that was unfairly hot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His seemingly nonchalant attitude kind of worried Blaine a little, as it was like he didn't remember the night before at all; or worse, was choosing to ignore it. That would set back any progress the two of them were making so far that he didn't want to think about it - and he didn’t have time, anyway. If he showed up late to lunch at his house with his grandma he didn’t want to think about the extremity of the ‘I’m not angry, I’m disappointed’ talk he’d get from his parents. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh huh, unfortunately I’ll have to pass, Smythe,” he replied instead, standing up properly and blinking a few times to wake himself up, refusing to turn around and look at the boy in bed as honestly, if he saw Sebastian stretched out on those white sheets, the chance of him leaving the house was very slim.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re no fun,” came the reply, and Blaine didn’t have to look to know he’d be pouting. Instead, he went to where he’d put his clothes last night and hastily shoved them on, hoping he looked somewhat presentable, but just glad he didn’t have any hickies or marks on his body that suggested he hadn’t been at Sam’s. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I think I have everything, just bring whatever I missed to school tomorrow, if I did leave anything, ok?” Blaine finished doing up his shirt and put his keys in his pockets,  glancing around the room a little. Part of him wanted to ask Sebastian what was running through his head, why he was being completely ambivalent towards the previous night, and why any of those insecurities were now as if they had never existed, but the image of his mother’s disappointed face put him off trying to do any psychological evaluation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned to the bed, knees weakening a little at the sight of Sebastian sprawled out, the bedsheet not going any higher than his hips and his hair sticking out at every angle. He leaned down to press a light kiss to his forehead. “Text me when your hangover wears off, okay? And let me know if you need anything, anything at all,” Blaine said, trying to put as much emphasis on the latter half of his sentence, even though he knew it would probably be ignored. “I’ll see you tomorrow, probably in glee club?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian nodded sleepily, giving him a lazy smile as he wormed his way closer under the duvet. “Alright, good luck with family time, don’t be too miserable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine accepted that as his heartfelt goodbye and just fondly rolled his eyes, giving one last glance down at Sebastian before tearing his gaze away, heading out of the bedroom and out of the house, hoping he was going to be able to find his way home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somehow, he made it back in time, making up some story about him and Sam getting carried away playing Mario Kart that his parents believed way too easily, which made him think a little about what sort of image he was projecting. Family lunch turned into a whole family day, so Blaine found himself completely distracted and caught up in conversations and forced piano recitals until the evening. Sebastian had sporadically texted him, random updates on his day and weird shower thoughts that put a smile on Blaine’s face, and he fell asleep with his phone in his hand, not thinking about their argument or his drunken confessions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he arrived at school the next day, a message had been sent to all the New Directions that glee club was cancelled, as Mr Schue was off ‘sick’ - Blaine didn’t blame the guy, he'd been a guest at his failed wedding, after all, so he figured that their teacher was going to be using a lot of his sick days up in the upcoming weeks. What was surprising however, was when another text was sent out from Sam and Sebastian saying to come to the choir room, as glee was still on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First of all, he wasn’t even aware that those two boys were even particularly close, and honestly, he thought that the only thing they really had in common was </span>
  <em>
    <span>him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> as they were pretty much his best friends. He tried very hard not to feel a bit jealous as he and Tina walked into the choir room, confused as to why they would even hang out without him, let alone organise an entire glee rehearsal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian was leaning against the piano and Sam jumped out behind him when they came through the door, the rest of the members all standing around the entrance looking a little bored and confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You two dorks do realise that none of this is necessary and we didn’t have to actually see each other this week, right?” Kitty drawled, picking at her nails and giving a heavy side eye to Sam who was practically bouncing off the walls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a light murmur of agreement around the room, Sebastian rolling his eyes and pushing off of the piano to go and stand next to Sam, clapping his hand down on the other boy’s shoulder to ground him a little. “Ok, but as most of you have seemed to have forgotten, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> actually have to compete at regionals not too far in the future, and you all still pretty much suck, so Evans and I have decided to run this week’s glee club to stop any talent any of you have completely shrivelling up and dying,” he stated, staring at them all pointedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine still found it cute how Sebastian pretended to hate each and every one of them, and the New Directions in general, but then would still go out of his way to give up his free time to do something like teach them for a week. Even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> him and Sam doing it together - why did they go to each other, rather than him? Blaine was fairly confident in his leadership abilities, so their collaboration, which excluded him, was not really something he saw coming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sam jumped up and gave them all a big grin. “Yeah, regionals and all that, but also, glee is </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you guys! And we thought we should really do something fun, so we came up with the idea of doing musical guilty pleasures!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine would never admit that that idea was good, or that he wished that he’d come up with it; he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the glee club looked equally unimpressed, which led to Sebastian and Sam sharing an amused look and placing their hands on the zips of their jumpers. “And, we thought we’d kick things off!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> fair. Blaine loved Wham. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Sam and Sebastian’s performance, which was infuriatingly good, a lot of the New Directions broke off into smaller groups to start thinking about their own guilty pleasures, whilst Blaine was trying hard not to think about the two boys in those neon shorts which really should be implicated into their wardrobes more often. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian slid up to him outside the auditorium, grin on his face and hair still coiffed ridiculously. “So, good idea, huh? One day in and it’s already better than any single thing Schuester has done.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh huh,” Blaine nodded, trying not to sound too jealous, as that would be inappropriate and petty. Which he was not. “Wham is great; you two sounded good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was aware he didn’t exactly sound over the moon about it, but he tried to not let his face do that pouty thing it often did when he was put out (he didn’t think it worked).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riiight, what’s up with you then, Anderson? Thought you’d be impressed with me actually trying to do something nice for the club,” Sebastian teased, nudging his shoulder, clearly picking up on Blaine’s attitude. They arrived at his locker, corridor emptying out a bit, and Blaine just let his back fall against the metal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing’s wrong,” he muttered, arms crossed and definitely pouting. Sebastian lifted an eyebrow and stared down at him, not convinced in the slightest. “It’s just… you and Sam? Why did you two decide to run it together, what about me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was aware that he sounded kind of whiny, like a child having a  strop, which wasn’t helped when he peered up through his lashes and saw Sebastian biting back a laugh at him, his eyes crinkled and shoulders shaking a bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Blaine, are you jealous that me and Evans are working together? Fuck, you’re adorable,” he laughed, reaching his arm out to bring him into a half hug. “Look, Sam saw me in the library and we just started chatting; we came up with the idea sort of spontaneously and it led to this, plus, you’re so busy with student council, we thought you wouldn’t mind having a bit of a relax,” Sebastian shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re just letting everyone do their own thing the rest of the week, no more joint performances from us, so don’t worry; that was pretty much the extent of our leadership abilities.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine let his cheek rest on Sebastian’s chest and hummed, realising that he had definitely been over dramatic about this. “Yeah, yeah, ok; although, I don’t feel guilty about any of the music that I like, so I don’t even think I’ll be able to perform this week,” he muttered, before pushing back and glancing up at Sebastian. “I do think it’s cool how you’ve taken control of the glee club, though, and I don’t care if you just say it’s because of regionals - I know that you actually care about the group, which I think is really nice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian actually looked a little embarrassed by that, brushing it off with a smirk, but Blaine knew that it did mean a lot to him - after saying the other night about how much he hadn’t wanted to fit in or properly be at McKinley, his growing acceptance of it just meant that he was becoming happier and more stable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on then, killer, let’s go get coffee and think about what god awful performances people are going to do this week,” Sebastian said, leaving his arm around Blaine’s shoulders as he pulled him away from the lockers, and walking them down the hallway together. Blaine couldn't help but lean into his touch, thinking that maybe this is what it would be like if they were in a relationship, and he realised that, that was all he wanted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>The week went on quickly, multiple people taking part in the lesson, which, admittedly, was very fun - Sam’s Barry Manilow performance was strangely very endearing, although his outfit was a little scarring, and the girls did a Spice Girls cover that Blaine was not ashamed to admit he loved slightly</span> <span>too much. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, no performance from Sebastian as the days went, even though he had apparently promised Sam he was going to do a solo number, and was being very tight lipped about the whole thing. Despite his assurance to Blaine that, after the Wham performance, he wouldn’t really be leading the glee club, he had been kept busy all week in charge of it, and they barely got a chance to talk at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And as it got further away from their conversation after the wedding, Blaine grew more worried that Sebastian would try and brush it off, and pretend it didn’t even happen, and then they’d be stuck in this weird limbo forever. Even after school, Sebastian had various soccer and swimming practices that meant his evenings were taken up, and they didn't even spend time together outside of McKinley, not the way that they used to. Although, </span>
  <em>
    <span>in</span>
  </em>
  <span> school, Sebastian would put his arm around him, sometimes press a kiss to his cheek, as well as the usual onslaught of inappropriate comments that Blaine pretended not to love, but they didn’t get together at their homes or outside McKinley, and it was mildly worrying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine grew more and more nervous that this was Sebastian’s way of weaning off of him, deciding he wasn’t interested after the wedding, and couldn’t even find the time to talk to him about it. Their whole ‘relationship’ was so confusing, that as the end of the week approached, he was on his final tethers, not sure how much he could take of the ambiguity and disorientation. Before he could try and corner Sebastian into having an actual grown up conversation, the boy in question had called them all to the auditorium for his own guilty pleasures performance of the week. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He arrived last, slumping down into a seat next to Jake, behind Tina and Kitty, who were rapidly whispering about what his song could be. Marley and Sam were just sitting and grinning, looking way too excited about the performance that supposedly no one knew about, exchanging animated looks between the two of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian was sitting behind a piano - Blaine didn’t even know he </span>
  <em>
    <span>played</span>
  </em>
  <span> the instrument - and cleared his throat a little, leaning into the microphone. “Ok, so I know I technically already sang a Taylor Swift song at Sadie Hawkins, but I did also tell everyone that Marley made me do it, which was a bit of a lie. So, I’m outing myself with this one.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started to play, Blaine almost forgetting that Sebastian had just outed himself as a Swiftie in front of the glee club when his long fingers began to trail over the keys, clearly a little rusty on the piano but not awful, as if he had been forced to learn as a child and had only recently started again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine was familiar with the song when it started, as he prided himself on listening to as much music as physically possible, which did include Taylor Swift’s entire discography. He was slightly surprised to hear Sebastian doing something arguably romantic and emotional, as he tended to prefer more upbeat, dance numbers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their eyes met as he sang, his voice starting off quieter, more raw than the usual confident tone with which he sang, Sebastian’s gaze not leaving his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Your eyes whispered "have we met?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me,”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine was reminded of when they first met, that first time in the Dalton common room, being drawn into the song by Sebastian, and he figured that’s when this all started, even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself at the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>The lingering question kept me up</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Two a.m., who do you love?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice was beautiful, Blaine thought; usually it was his dancing that got all the praise, but hearing him so raw and open reminded him of the talent the other boy truly had, and the connection he could make with the audience. Every now and then his eyes would drop down to the keys, long fingers focused on getting the right notes on a difficult chord, but then they’d flicker back up to meet Blaine’s, his green irises vibrant under the stage lights.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I'll spend forever wondering if you knew</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I was enchanted to meet you”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine could feel several eyes on him now, casting hurried glances over to his face as the song progressed, but the only person he could focus on was Sebastian. Sebastian, who was so unabashedly open with his sexuality and boldness, but reclusive with any intimate feelings or public emotions, yet was clear as day singing to him, open and vulnerable. It was the sort of thing Blaine would do, some grand gesture, a romantic song, singing at the piano - he couldn’t help but think that was maybe Sebastian’s intention, an appeal to what Blaine would like. </span>
  <span>It was taking all his strength to not run up onto that stage, to kiss Sebastian, to hold him. The other boy had a fierce determination in his eye that was masking something else, an insecurity and desperation which was threatening to spill as he sang, his voice sometimes cracking a little with the raw intensity of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please don't be in love with someone else</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please don't have somebody waiting on you” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine couldn’t let himself blink, knowing that the tears he was holding back would spill if he did. Sebastian’s face reflected his, but with almost a pleading in it, and the suggestion that he believed the words he was singing cracked Blaine’s heart a little further, his voice bleeding into him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I'll spend forever wondering if you knew</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I was enchanted to meet you”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The song drew to a close, Sebastian’s voice trailing off as the last few notes of the piano reverberated around the room, a silent echo flooding the auditorium. Their eyes were still connected, and Blaine was unable to stop the single tear from running down his cheek, burning his skin, as the applause erupted around him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He managed to get his hands to work after a while, clapping along with everyone else as Sebastian stood from the stool and took a small bow, way more tentative than his usual showy finish. Before Blaine could try and string a sentence together, unsure how to act in the room full of people and looking eyes, Sam and Marley both stood up and motioned for everyone to leave, heading out the auditorium.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine wasn’t sure if Sebastian had asked them to, or were just being thoughtful, but he was glad, as it just didn’t feel appropriate to have the entire club there at that moment, not after something so intimate and personal, something for the two of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, he walked over to the stage, climbing up onto it as everyone else trailed out, hearing the door shut behind Sam as he left, until it was just him and Sebastian there, the other boy leaning over by the piano.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, Taylor Swift, huh? Bet the Warblers gave you a lot of shit for that,” he managed to say, putting his hands in his pockets as he stopped in front of Sebastian, aware of the weakness in his voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re one to talk, Mr Katy Perry,” Sebastian replied, ankles crossed over each other and looking smaller than he usually did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine paused for a second, never really sure how to navigate these sorts of conversations with him, as they usually weren’t so readily received. “You sounded incredible, you know. Best performance of the week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian offered him a small smile at that, before pushing off being propped up against the piano and taking a step forward, sighing out heavily. “You know, I struggle saying stuff sometimes, but when it comes to you, to us, well, that’s worth more than anything to me. So you deserve me pulling my head out of my ass and just being honest with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took another step closer, reaching out one hand to loosely entwine their fingers. “It used to terrify me - ever since I moved to this school, the only thing I cared about was you. And as we got closer, and the possibility of </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> became clearer, I realised that my feelings for you were deeper than I ever thought possible, which was frankly fucking scary. Hence why I kept acting like such a dick, pushing you away and refusing to do labels, as I was so scared of myself and hurting you, I just... sort of made everything worse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine felt his vision blur slowly as Sebastian continued, squeezing his hand gently. “You deserve more, and I thought I couldn’t give you that, but you made me realise that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to give you that; I want to go on dates, and watch shitty rom coms, and sing awful duets in glee club that literally no one wants to hear. I want to surprise you with coffee, and have dinner with your family, and kiss you on the pitch after one of my games, for everyone to see. I haven’t been treating you the way you should be treated, and I haven’t given this enough respect, but if you let me, I want to try.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a strength in his voice that cut through the slight tremor as he spoke, and when Blaine connected their eyes, Sebastian’s had a determined resolve in them behind the slight blurriness. He didn’t think he’d ever heard him say that much, with so much passion and honesty, that it made Blaine’s heart ache and his knees weak, his head swimming with thoughts, but mostly there was just an overwhelming sense of joy that burst through him. Before he could even think about it he closed the distance between them, wrapping his free hand around Sebastian’s shoulders and urging their lips together, the taste of salt reminiscent in the kiss from his tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sebastian immediately kissed him back, one arm around his waist and the other moving from his hand to cradle his jaw, lips not moving but pressed together as if they just wanted to be close, to touch and feel one another as best as they could. Slowly, he pulled back, their foreheads resting against one another, their breath mingling and eyes meeting, feeling some of their pent up tension dissolving out of their bodies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I realise I didn’t actually say it, but that was me trying to ask you to be my boyfriend,” Sebastian muttered against his mouth, causing Blaine to bite back a laugh. He chastly pressed a kiss on the corner of Sebastian’s mouth, his fingers twisted in the back of his hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I kind of read between the lines with that one, Smythe,” he chuckled, brushing their noses together. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him expectantly, before Blaine realised he  never even answered. “And, yes, I would love to be your boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Embarrassing,” Sebastian teased, scrunching up his nose in mock disgust. Blaine simply  swatted him in the chest with laughter, pulling away from his boyfriend who was now chuckling at himself. An arm wrapped around his waist and tugged him back in, leaving his back flush against Sebastian’s chest, lips pressed into his curls and a hand on his hip. It was so unbelievably comforting and domestic, and Blaine was already addicted to it; he knew he would never want to leave this embrace. Not when it was everything he wanted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going anywhere, Anderson,” Sebastian whispered in his ear before pressing a kiss against his cheek, his smile evident through the tight lines of his lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blaine just leant back, overlaying his boyfriends arms with his own and letting his eyes fall shut, body warm and heart full. “Trust me, I don’t want to.” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you so so much for reading this whole thing, i hope you enjoyed it!! im killer-leo on tumblr if you wanna say. hi!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading!! im killer-leo on tumblr, ive written a fair amount of this already so updates will be regular</p></blockquote></div></div>
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